KFC in the UK and Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden has become the first major fast food chain to sign up to the Better Chicken Commitment, also known as European Chicken Commitment.
The commitment means that by 2026 all the farms that supply KFC’s restaurants in the UK and Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden will move to slower growing chicken breeds. KFC chickens will also have more space to move around, more natural light and enrichment such as straw bales to explore and peck. This will affect 73 million chickens per year.
Last year a petition signed by over half a million people supporting a campaign by the farming welfare charity World Animal Protection was handed in to KFC’s HQ urging the company to give chickens better lives.
As well as signing up to the Better Chicken Commitment KFC will also use third-party auditing to verify its commitments, publicly report on progress every year and provide funding for research into better chicken welfare.
Paula MacKenzie, CEO of KFC UK & Ireland, said: “Our business depends on the health, sustainability and reputation of chicken farming, and our customers care about improving the lives of the chicken we buy. That’s why we’re adding our voice to the campaign and encourage others to do the same – because to inspire real change and provoke meaningful action, we need the industry to move with us.”