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McChicken Cruelty

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BREAKING NEWS: Moy Park, a known McDonald’s supplier, exposed for extreme animal suffering

In August 2020, Animal Equality released distressing scenes of severe animal suffering on eight British chicken farms across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. All eight farms are Red Tractor-certified and operated by Moy Park, one of the UK’s largest chicken producers, and a known McDonald’s supplier.

The troubling footage, captured covertly by an Animal Equality undercover investigator, reveals:

  • Chicks deemed too small to be profitable being deprived of water as drinkers are routinely raised to an unreachable height;
  • Hundreds of chicks suffering agonising deaths each day as workers painfully crush the chicks’ necks in their hands;
  • Chickens developing raw skin burns on their feet and chests from urine-soaked floors;
  • Chickens bred to grow so big, so quickly, that they suffer from excruciating leg injuries and are unable to carry the weight of their own oversized bodies;
  • Chickens crammed into immensely overcrowded barns, barely able to move or stretch their wings.

McDonald’s claims that it will only ever use suppliers that meet its exacting standards, yet it continues to purchase chicken meat from Moy Park, suggesting that these standards are far from meaningful. It’s time for McDonald’s to put its words into action by adopting the Better Chicken Commitment, just as KFC, Nando’s and hundreds of other companies have already done.

The life of factory farmed chickens

Every year, hundreds of millions of chickens are raised and killed in order to become McChicken Sandwiches, Chicken McNuggets and 'Happy' Meals. As McDonald's is yet to sign up to the Better Chicken Commitment, a meaningful chicken welfare policy that has been adopted by the likes of KFC and Nando's, there is no guarantee that the chickens raised and killed for McDonald's will be protected from some of the tragic and unsustainable practices outlined below.

Unsustainable

McDonald’s claims to be committed to ensuring a sustainable supply of chicken, yet the disregard for chicken welfare seen on farms operated by a known McDonald's supplier results in millions of baby birds dying and being thrown away each year before even reaching the slaughterhouse. Does McDonald's think that this is sustainable?

In constant agony

Chickens are selectively bred to grow so big, so fast, that their organs and legs struggle to cope with the enormous strain. Some die from heart attacks, while others become unable to walk and die a slow painful death due to starvation.

Crammed into dark sheds

Tens of thousands of unnaturally large chickens are packed into each dark shed. These animals struggle to move around, each having less space than an A4 piece of paper. Their living conditions are so poor that they struggle to even carry out some of their most natural behaviours such as perching and dust-bathing. This lack of stimulation adds to the chickens' misery.

Forced to lay in their own waste

The sheds are not cleaned out for the entire lives of the chickens, meaning they are forced to sit, eat and sleep in their own waste. As many of the large birds are too heavy to stand, the ammonia-filled litter burns their skin, resulting in feather loss and other painful issues.

Raise awareness of this animal suffering today

The images used on this page represent typical UK farms that raise chickens for meat.