Pizza Hut and Popeyes just committed to making life better for chickens

In our recent chicken welfare report, The Pecking Order, we ranked eight of the largest fast food giants on how their companies prioritize chicken welfare and what they're doing to improve it. After being featured in report in both 2019 and 2020, Pizza Hut has signed on to the Better Chicken Commitment in Europe!

By making this commitment, Pizza Hut has agreed to:

• Give chickens more room to move around, spread their wings, and better use enrichments, which would reduce leg problems
• Use slower-growing breeds with proven higher welfare outcomes to avoid the health problems caused by unnatural fast growth
• Provide chickens with access to natural light and enrichment like perches or straw. Floor based litter is essential for dustbathing, comfort, and feather and feet health – all of which are proven to help chickens fulfill their natural behaviours
• More humane slaughter
• Use third-party auditing to verify its commitments and report on progress every year

We hope that Pizza Hut and parent company, Yum!, will consider making this commitment in all countries with restaurant locations.

Since publishing The Pecking Order report, Restaurant Brands International (RBI) has reiterated its commitment to adopt changes to improve broiler chicken welfare. RBI is the parent company of Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Burger King This commitment will cover stores in Canada and the U.S. and includes these changes for chickens, to be implemented by 2024:

• Transition to using breeds determined to have better welfare outcomes
• Provide more space by reducing maximum stocking density
• Enhance living environments including litter quality, lighting and enrichments
• Utilize a multi-step controlled-atmosphere stunning system

This is good news for chickens and we hope other multi-national fast food chains in Canada and across the globe will follow RBI’s lead.

Companies earning profits off the backs of chickens have a responsibility to ensure they live a life without pain and suffering, and that their behavioural and psychological needs are met.

Thank you to Pizza Hut and RBI on making these commitments!