Burger King Adopts New Industry-Leading Animal Welfare Policies

MIAMI, March 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following nearly six years of discussions with PETA -- and independent discussions with The Humane Society of the United States -- about problems concerning the treatment of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses, fast-food giant Burger King has announced groundbreaking plans to improve the lives and deaths of some of the animals killed for its restaurants. According to Burger King's new plan, which places it at the forefront of the fast-food industry with regard to animal welfare, the company will do the following:

  -- Immediately begin purchasing 10 percent of its pig meat from suppliers
     that do not use cruel gestation crates-metal enclosures that confine
     sows and are so restrictive that the animals cannot even stretch a limb
     or take a step -- and double that amount by the end of 2007.
  -- Immediately begin purchasing 2 percent of its eggs from hens who are
     not confined to tiny wire "battery cages" and more than double that
     amount by the end of 2007.
  -- Issue a statement to its egg suppliers that it will give purchasing
     preference to those that do not use intensive-confinement battery
     cages.
  -- Issue a statement to its poultry suppliers stating that it will give
     purchasing preference to those that use or switch to "controlled-
     atmosphere killing" (CAK), the least cruel method of poultry slaughter
     in existence.

"Burger King's new plan helps reduce some of the worst factory-farming and slaughterhouse abuses and will send a shockwave through the meat and egg industries," says PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich.

Since 2000, PETA has been using high-profile campaigns and negotiating behind the scenes to reduce the suffering of animals raised and killed for the fast-food and grocery industries. Burger King's recent announcement marks the latest chapter in these efforts.

For more information, please visit PETA's Web site http://goveg.com/. Burger King's letter to PETA specifying the new changes is available upon request. A timeline of Burger King's and other companies' animal welfare improvements follows.

Timeline of Key Developments

September 2000: Following PETA's 11-month "McCruelty" campaign, McDonald's becomes the first major U.S. corporation to require that its meat and egg suppliers abide by animal welfare standards.

June 2001: Following PETA's six-month "Murder King" campaign, Burger King agrees to adopt standards that are in some areas better than those adopted by McDonald's.

September 2001: Following PETA's three-month "Wicked Wendy's" campaign, Wendy's agrees to adopt animal welfare policies similar to those that Burger King adopted four months prior.

May 2002: Following PETA's four-month "Shameway" campaign, Safeway agrees to begin auditing its major pig-meat supplier for animal welfare and to adopt guidelines similar to those adopted by McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. This marks the first time that a Fortune 50 company has prioritized animal welfare.

June 2002: Following two months of discussions between PETA and Albertsons, Albertsons agrees to adopt animal welfare standards similar to those adopted by Safeway.

January 2003: Following nearly two years of failed negotiations with KFC, PETA launches its "Kentucky Fried Cruelty" campaign against the fast-food giant, calling on the company to eliminate the worst abuses that the more than 850 million birds killed annually for its buckets endure; KFC has yet to do so, and PETA's campaign continues.

December 2005: Following PETA's submission of a shareholder resolution calling on Safeway to further improve the lives and deaths of animals killed for its shelves, the company agrees to hire a panel of well-respected scientists to advise it on animal welfare matters.

January 2007: In response to pressure from PETA and major customers, Smithfield Foods, the largest pig-meat producer in the world, and Maple Leaf Foods, the largest pig-meat producer in Canada, both agree to phase out the use of cruel gestation crates to confine breeding pigs.

March 2007: Burger King announces that it has started phasing in the use of cage-free eggs, has begun purchasing pig meat from suppliers that don't use gestation crates and has issued a statement indicating its purchasing preference for chicken meat from producers that use or switch to CAK.