The Humane Society of the U.S. praised Perdue, the country’s fourth-largest poultry producer, for a series of animal-welfare reforms that it called “meaningful and precedent-setting.” The reforms include installing windows in poultry houses to allow more natural light; giving each bird more space; putting the birds to sleep before slaughter; and testing slower-growing breeds.
“The HSUS previously sued Perdue for false labeling around animal welfare claims and yet the company now has positioned itself at the head of the pack on the very issue we battled on,” the Humane Society wrote in a blog. “Perdue certainly deserves credit for being the first major company to begin addressing these issues.”
HSUS and other animal-welfare groups urged competitors—like Tyson, Pilgrim’s Pride and Sanderson Farms—to follow Perdue’s example.
Perdue, which slaughters 700 million birds annually, also said it will add “enrichment” elements, such as hay bales and perches, to the poultry houses.
“The industry has long argued that such standards would raise costs to producers that would eventually be passed on to consumers,” says The New York Times. “But Perdue, which had $6 billion in sales last year and increased production more than 9 percent, is betting such concerns are overblown based on its experience so far.”
Consumer concern about animal welfare and food safety is helping drive the reforms. Perdue is also leading the way on eliminating antibiotics from their chicken. Tyson, too, has made a lot progress on cutting out antibiotics. Sanderson Farms reported that all of its chickens are raised cage-free and never receive hormones or steroids, while Pilgrim’s Pride chickens are raised in “large poultry barns that protect from environmental extremes” and given “plenty of space to move freely.”