Red Tractor Enhanced Welfare Module

Compassion worked with Red Tractor to launch the ‘Enhanced Welfare’ module and marque for indoor chicken in 2020 which meets the European Chicken Commitment (ECC) criteria.

The module provides a ready-made third-party audit for companies wanting to source to this standard and the label allows them to differentiate their higher welfare chicken from standard production.

In 2021, we worked together again with Red Tractor on the introduction of the higher welfare breed Hubbard Redbro under their Enhanced Welfare module.

The breed underwent a rigorous approval process, cross-referencing the findings of the Broiler Breed Welfare Assessment protocol with commercial results from Red Tractor member trials. The data repeatedly demonstrated that the Hubbard Redbro was commensurate in welfare outcomes with breeds already on the list of approved breeds by the ECC.

Having another commercially viable breed approved under the Red Tractor scheme is an important enabler for companies who have signed up to the ECC and will be key in driving the market forwards in higher welfare chicken production.

‘Etiquette Bien-être Animal’ (French animal welfare labelling scheme)

Compassion worked in depth with French retailer Casino Group and animal welfare NGOs, LFDA and OABA to develop the very first animal welfare labelling scheme in France. The scheme is now independently run by the Association Etiquette Bien-être Animal.

The initial project delivered a labelling and auditing scheme for meat chicken, assessing welfare on a scale A-E. The on-farm criteria of the Better Chicken Commitment is represented as Level C, with A representing the highest level of welfare and E representing the lowest.

In 2021, over 10% of French chicken production was covered by the animal welfare labelling.

The Association Etiquette Bien-être Animal is now working with it partners to develop the auditing grid for pigs.

The scheme currently comprises of four animal welfare NGOs (CIWF, LFDA, OABA, Welfarm), five retailers (Casino Group, Carrefour, Système U, Les Mousquetaires and Lidl France), and five poultry producers (Les Fermiers de Loué, Les Fermiers du Sud-Ouest, Galliance, Maître Coq and Groupe Michel), two manufacturers (Fleury Michon and Herta) and one pig producer (Cooperl).

Global Animal Partnership

Compassion has worked with the Global Animal Partnership (GAP) and their 5-Step® Animal Welfare Rating Program for more than a decade, helping to evolve their standards across all species.

In 2016, GAP signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) in the US with their major customer, Whole Foods Market. More recently, Compassion has been working with GAP on the broiler breed assessment review to determine which breeds of chicken will be approved for the 5 Step programme and the BCC in the US.

Making Cage-Free Conversions Count

In the UK, Compassion worked with the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), Tesco and Noble Foods, the UK’s largest egg producer, to introduce a new standard for UK barn egg production, with significantly higher welfare credentials than those in EU legislation, and higher than the KAT system in Germany.

Noble Foods has worked alongside their equipment manufacturers, Vencomatic, to convert one of their large enriched colony caged units to the new higher welfare aviary barn system. 

In Italy, the Food Business team continues to work with the food industry and leading egg producers to encourage the elimination of combi systems and the transition to well-designed multi-tier aviary barn systems. 

In June 2021, the largest Italian egg producer - and leading egg producer in Europe - Eurovo Group committed to phasing out cages for laying hens on its Italian-owned farms by 2022 and made a further commitment to phase out the use of combination or ‘combi’ systems by 2025.

Influencing The Pig Industry

Compassion’s work with UK retailers, wholesaler Winterbotham Darby and leading continental pork manufacturers are improving the welfare of sows across Europe. Our joint aim is to transition to completely sow-stall free and free-farrowing systems, with the provision of appropriate manipulable material and nesting material.

Winterbotham Darby has set up a unique Gold, Silver, Bronze (UKAS accredited ISO:17065) animal welfare certification scheme for their meat suppliers which is driving welfare improvements across their European supply chain, for which they received Special Recognition in 2018.

Best Practise In Dairy Cow Welfare

Compassion has worked in partnership with Danone in France for many years on the development of their welfare outcome measures and active improvement programmes for dairy cows.

Following the release of an animal welfare guide for dairy cows in 2011, we worked with Danone on their animal welfare assessment protocol, which has been successfully piloted in Spain and is now being implemented on a global scale.

In 2021, we collaborated with Danone on the creation of a new dairy cow welfare guide for farmers and technicians. This booklet is freely available for all industry stakeholders.

Better Chicken Commitment

Following Compassion’s in-depth work with Knorr and Global Animal Partnership (GAP) to introduce higher welfare standards for broiler chickens - for which they each received Special Recognition Awards in 2015 and 2016 respectively - nine leading NGO’s in the US (2016) and 30 NGO’s in Europe (2017) came together and agreed a unified ‘corporate ask’ for improved broiler welfare.

The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) in the US and the European Chicken Commitment (ECC) asks for a reduced stocking density (to 30kg/m2, 6llb/ft2), use of approved breeds with proven good welfare outcomes, the provision of natural light, pecking substrates and perches, with humane slaughter methods and third party auditing.

To date, more than 230 US brands have signed up to meet the BCC by 2024 (and the higher welfare breed standard by 2026), and over 380 companies have signed up to meet the ECC criteria by 2026.

Compassion has worked closely with some of the food companies that have pledged to improve their chicken standards. Find out more here.

• In the US – Whole Foods Market was the first major food company to sign up to the new requirements for broiler chickens by 2024. Today, major companies across food service, manufacturing, and restaurant sectors have joined the ranks. The growing list of committed companies includes brands like Subway, General Mills, and Popeyes. Read the full listing of US company broiler welfare commitments here.
• In Europe – leading brands like KFC, Burger King, Nando's, Domino's, M&S, Unilever, Nestlé, Waitrose, Danone, Elior Group, Sodexo, E, Leclerc, Intermarché and Carrefour have all have signed up to the European Chicken Commitment, promising to achieve their aims by 2026. Read the full listing here.

More than 1 billion broilers are set to positively benefit when these corporate pledges come to fruition, as part of our ongoing food business engagement.

Facilitating Corporate Change - Broilers

With momentum on sign-ups to the BCC and ECC, companies are looking to the Food Business team to help drive the implementation of the new standards, irrespective of where in the world the chicken is produced.

Compassion facilitates change by:

1. Working with companies to develop their roadmap for implementation, in particular making the business case; mapping the supply; finding solutions to barriers; marketing and consumer communications
2. Hosting industry fora, where stakeholders across the supply share experiences on transition to the BCC, update on the latest information, and brainstorm next steps for progressing delivery
3. Participating in industry Working Groups to drive change on key topics or find solutions to specific barriers
4. Engaging with Assurance Schemes to encourage them to set standards and audit to the Better Chicken Commitment
5. Measuring progress through key tools such as ChickenTrack 

Assigning Cages To the History Books

Following the highly successful Compassion led European Citizen’s Initiative to 'End the Cage Age' - collaborating with 170 NGO’s and securing 1.4 million verified signatures – on 30th June, the European Commission made a historic landmark decision to end the use of caged systems in livestock production by 2027.

Ten leading European food companies voiced their support for the ECI by sending a joint letter to the EU Commission and Members of the EU Parliament commending the aims of the initiative. Many of these companies are leading the way and driving the market with their own commitments and transition to cage-free production but legislation will need to catch up if we are to eradicate cages for good.

Amidst the multiple influencing factors on these corporate decisions, Compassion is proud to have played an influencing role with some of the biggest industry players to establish cage-free policies:

• In the US - major restaurant chains McDonald’s, Panera Bread and Taco Bell, major food service company Aramark, and top American supermarkets Walmart, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Publix, and Ahold/Delhaize.
• In Europe - Casual Dining Group (whose brands include Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas) and Whitbread (whose brands include Premier Inn and Beefeater Grill) in the UK; leading French retailers Casino, Intermarché, Auchan, Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Systeme U and Avril (No. 1 egg producer in France); leading Italian retailers Conad, Lidl Italy, ALDI Italy and Bennet, and the Italian food service companies Camst, MARR, and Autogrill.
• Global - the biggest food service companies in the world, Sodexo, Elior Group and Compass Group, and other global leaders including Barilla, Ferrero, Nestlé and Danone.

More than 70 million laying hens are set to positively benefit when these corporate pledges come to fruition, as part of our ongoing food business engagement.

Facilitating Corporate Change - Laying Hens

Converting caged housing for laying hens demands that systems are ‘fit for purpose’ to ensure the hens have a good quality of life, and ‘fit for future’ to stand the test of time.

There are a range of multi-tier and aviary systems on the market – from highly intensive combi systems to more spacious well-designed aviaries. Compassion has worked with the egg industry, egg producers and equipment manufacturers to develop its guidance on multi-tier aviary systems. Read more here.

Compassion facilitates change by:

1. Working with companies to develop their roadmap for implementation, in particular making the business case; mapping the supply; finding solutions to barriers; marketing and consumer communications
2. Hosting industry fora, where stakeholders across the supply share experiences on transition to cage-free production, update on the latest information, and brainstorm next steps for progressing delivery
3. Participating in industry Working Groups to drive change on key topics or find solutions to specific barriers
4. Engaging with Assurance Schemes to encourage them to set standards in line with true cage-free systems
5. Measuring progress through key tools such as EggTrack