Restaurant chains reject criticism leveled in animal welfare report

Nando’s and Subway have refuted criticism leveled a them and six other food brands by World Animal Protection (WAP), a UK-based animal welfare activist organization. In a new report, titled “The Pecking Order,” WAP said it reviewed the publicly available information from the foodservice companies in three areas:how interested the company publicly appeared to be in the welfare of the chickens supplied to its restaurants, how ambitious the company was in its public promises to improve the lives of the chickens raised for its dishes, and how clearly the company endeavored to show how it was living up to its promises. The report is part of the organization’s Change for Chickens campaign, the report said. “[S]ome of the biggest and most iconic food companies in the world are doing little to improve the lives of the chickens on which their businesses depend,” the report said. “They are ignoring the opportunities created by higher animal welfare standards. Not so, say at least two of the eight brands called out in the report. Nando’s Peri-Peri and Subway submitted statements to Global Meat News, a UK-based business publication.“We ensure the markets in which we operate incorporate high animal welfare standards which are determined and regulated by the countries who participate in the (International Organization for Standardization) and the (International Organization for Animal Welfare,” Global Meat News quoted a Nando’s spokeswoman as saying.