US: Safeway promotes welfare for poultry
North America’s third largest grocery retailer, Safeway, has taken a series of steps to improve poultry welfare in its food purchasing decisions.
The Humane Society of the US, which has been in dialogue with the retailer since last November about improving its animal welfare standards, has applauded Safeway’s announcement.
Policies introduced
– It will purchase preferably cage-free eggs, which is “intended to favour producers who are converting away from battery-cage confinement systems.” Safeway further adds, “We hope this new policy will encourage the egg industry to move away from confining laying hens in battery cages.”
– It will more than double the percentage of cage-free eggs it offers to over 6% of its total egg sales within two years.
– It will also purchase from poultry slaughterers that use Controlled Atmosphere Stunning, which causes significantly less suffering than the conventional poultry slaughter method.
Paul Shapiro, senior director of the HSUS’ factory farming campaign, commented that “Safeway’s new policies represent important progress on basic animal welfare issues and will positively affect many thousands of animals.”
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