Pizza chain Domino’s has been ranked as one of the top fast-food companies in Australia in committing to providing proper chicken welfare, while KFC has been called out for “grossly underperforming”.
The global animal welfare charity World Animal Protection (WAP) reviewed nine of Australia’s biggest fast-food companies and has found the true condition and costs of raising chickens in their supply chains.
Rochelle Flood, campaign manager for WAP, said KFC’s refusal to act on chicken welfare goes directly against consumer expectations when the industry is already moving on animal welfare and plant protein.
“KFC is failing its customers, and the millions of chickens suffer every year in its supply chain,” said Flood.
She added their assessment found chickens are crammed on factory farms, resulting in lameness, skin lesions, and heart and lung failure.
According to the report, Domino’s was the only company to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment while offering extensive humane and sustainable plant-based options.
The organisation said it is urging the food industry to commit to global policy changes by signing the Better Chicken Commitment, where companies are expected to:
- Use chicken breeds that grow at a healthier rate. The current fast-growing variants mean chickens grow to their full size in an average of six weeks. This accelerated growth rate, with low light levels and insufficient space to move, leads to serious health problems, including heart and lung failure, muscle weakness and lameness.
- Ensure that chickens have the space to behave more naturally.
- Allow chickens to enjoy natural behaviours via enrichment – including perches or platforms and pecking objects – natural lighting, and high-quality bedding.
- Ensure chickens are slaughtered using humane methods that avoid live inversion and shackling and render all animals unconscious before slaughter.
“Australian animals and consumers deserve better,” said Flood.
