New Zealand’s first café business to have reached SPCA Certified standards for eggs, The Coffee Club, is also the first nationwide café chain to demand better welfare for chickens bred for meat.
International chain The Coffee Club, together with chicken restaurant chain Bird On A Wire, are the latest big brands to sign the Australia-New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment.
As one of the largest café franchises in the country, with 63 outlets (and more opening later this year) from Warkworth to Invercargill, The Coffee Club is leading the café sector to raise the bar in animal welfare with this policy adoption.
Andy Lucas, Co-Director of both The Coffee Club and Bird on a Wire says,
“As a brand committed to the highest animal welfare standards, we are thrilled to support the Better Chicken Commitment. We understand the importance of responsible corporate practices and know that our customers expect only the best from us. Embracing the BCC standards aligns perfectly with our values.”
What is the Better Chicken Commitment?
This global policy initiative lays out strict, science-based welfare standards for chickens bred for meat; standards which far exceed those currently set by the New Zealand government. The Australia-New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment (ANZ BCC) is backed by 15 animal organisations including the New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa (VAWA), Compassion in World Farming and World Animal Protection.
The most important requirement of the ANZ BCC is a shift to healthier chicken breeds, who grow more naturally.
Beyond breed improvements, farms that supply food brands who’ve signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment also have to make other changes to improve the lives of chickens. This includes reducing the number of birds inside each shed; installing windows to provide natural light; installing perches and other enrichments; and reporting on their progress annually as they make these changes.
When food businesses sign up to the ANZ BCC, it gives a clear signal to their chicken suppliers that they are demanding better for chickens by setting out a timeline for achieving BCC compliant practices, drawing a line in the sand.
The Coffee Club and Bird On A Wire proudly join the movement in New Zealand, adopting ANZ BCC standards as the inevitable next step in improved welfare for chickens.
What is wrong with chicken farming in New Zealand?
Generations of selective breeding by the chicken industry have created so-called ‘Frankenchickens’ who grow abnormally fast. The chickens grow so big so quickly that many suffer chronic pain and lameness. Some can’t even lift themselves off the ground to reach food or water. Others struggle to breathe or suffer organ failure within weeks of being hatched. All because they’ve been bred to grow faster than nature intended.
Outdated New Zealand farming practices are lagging behind foreign markets where the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) standards are already established across Europe and North America. New Zealand must introduce approved new breeds with better genetics for meaningful welfare improvements for chickens.
Who else has signed the Australia-New Zealand BCC?
In New Zealand, Domino’s, Swolefoods, My Food Bag, HelloFresh and now The Coffee Club and Bird On A Wire have adopted the ANZ BCC policy. They are joined by Domino’s, Marley Spoon, Open Farm and Joe & the Juice in Australia.
Who will be next to follow through on caring about animal welfare?
Sign up to our online action team (the A-team) to take a stand against suffering with quick and easy online actions for chickens. Help us change the way the chicken industry treats chooks, one food business at a time.