Mercy For Animals Applauds Progress As Nestlé USA Announces Critical Improvements To Animal Welfare Policy

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestlé, the world's largest food and beverage company, pledged today to end many of the worst abuses endured by millions of chickens raised and slaughtered in its U.S. supply chain.

Nestlé USA's animal welfare policy will meet standards set by Global Animal Partnership (GAP), an international animal welfare rating program, which include the following:

• Ending the use of lower-welfare breeds, as these chickens are bred to grow so big, so fast that many collapse under their own weight and can't even walk without pain
• Ending extreme crowding and providing each chicken more floor space
• Keeping chicken litter clean enough to prevent eye sores, flesh burns, and respiratory distress
• Improving lighting standards, including at least six hours of darkness each night and sufficient light during the day to decrease illness and disease
• Ending live-shackle slaughter in favor of the less cruel method of controlled-atmosphere stunning, which eliminates the suffering caused by shackling, shocking, and slitting the throats of conscious animals

The new policy, which follows discussions with Mercy For Animals, will be implemented in full by 2024. With this announcement, Nestlé USA joins other major food manufacturers that have issued similar commitments, including General Mills, Unilever, and Campbell, as well as leading chain restaurants, including Subway, Burger King, Chipotle, Quiznos, and Panera Bread.  

"Nestlé USA has taken a big step toward ending many of the worst forms of animal abuse in the factory farming industry," said Brent Cox, vice president of corporate outreach with Mercy For Animals. "This new policy will significantly reduce suffering for millions of animals each year. The days are numbered for the factory farming industry's cruelest practices. It is time for companies like Wendy's to stop dragging their feet and follow Nestle USA's lead in implementing much-needed animal welfare improvements for their supply chains."

The best way for individual consumers to protect chickens and other farmed animals from cruelty is simply to leave them off their plates. To learn more about Mercy For Animals and its efforts to help farmed animals, visit MercyForAnimals.org.

SOURCE Mercy For Animals