Here in Aotearoa, we may be quietly positioned down the bottom of the world, a small island notion sold as a bucolic paradise, but we know better.
Over 120 million chickens each year that are bred for their meat desperately need our help. Now, and for the last half century they have been intensively farmed here, these exploited birds suffer immensely. Chickens have been selectively bred to grow at an abnormally fast, explosive rate. Their own bodies can’t keep up with the strain. At only a few weeks old, many can’t walk properly anymore. They suffer a range of painful health issues, problems so severe that approximately six thousand a day (according to the chicken industry’s figures) die or have to be culled, even before slaughter.
We knew something big had to change to address the plight of these animals, to reduce their suffering and improve their short lives. Chickens needed change.
Globally renowned ethologist and naturalist, Dr. Jane Goodall, said “Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right”.
In New Zealand, we aren’t having that important change conversation alone. Animals Aotearoa is a member organisation of The Open Wing Alliance, a worldwide powerhouse for affecting positive change for chickens. The OWA is a coalition organisation formally launched in 2016 by The Humane League. Today, it has grown to 100 groups spanning 72 countries across 6 continents. We are a united front campaigning for common goals: to move the needle in welfare for chickens. Through securing corporate policy for better standards, we are condemning cruel cages for hens farmed for eggs and poor genetics for chickens bred to meat to the history books.
Together, the groups have almost 30 thousand in-person volunteers, 5 million subscribers to email updates, and 2.2 million folks participating in online actions. There is a combined audience of over 12 million Facebook followers, 2.8 million on Instagram and almost a million on X. This year, member organisations have executed nearly 3 thousand public facing actions, presented at over 250 conferences and had over 25 thousand media mentions, combined. The word is spreading and the pressure is growing.
And we are getting results. Together, we have secured 2553 cage-free egg commitments and 620 welfare policies for chickens bred for meat. In 2023 alone, advocates negotiated 143 new corporate pledges to eliminate cages for hens or the worst abuses of chickens farmed for meat, by committing to healthier, more naturally-growing breeds.
Momentum on this welfare overhaul has now expanded well beyond the West, with recent policy wins including the largest Asian restaurant company with global presence, Jollibee, and also the biggest Indonesian retailer, Super Indo.
This type of progress is coming for New Zealand also. Membership with The Open Wing Alliance means we are fortunate: we don’t need to invent the wheel of progress, we only have to push it down the hill. Corporate pressure campaigns for better animal welfare policy are a tried and tested method with proven results. With eight Better Chicken Commitments in New Zealand so far, we will continue to get wins for the winged with the mighty support of our global OWA partners alongside us.