“Wait, what’s this about Nando’s chicken cruelty?” That’s the question on everyone’s lips since we ramped up our campaign to hold Nando’s accountable for their claim to be “Nando’s for good.” Spoiler alert: they could be doing a lot more for chickens.
The chickens currently being sold by Nando’s New Zealand have been selectively bred to grow abnormally fast. These breeds of chickens grow so big and so fast that many suffer chronic pain and lameness. Some can’t lift their bodies up off the floor 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.
Their underdeveloped baby hearts are sometimes too weak to keep them alive. It’s heartbreaking, literally! That’s why our campaign logo features a Nando’s chicken with a broken heart.
Four years ago, Nando’s UK promised to improve the lives of the chickens they serve, proudly supporting the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). Their customers and animal welfare groups applauded the move. But here in New Zealand, nothing! Nando’s NZ seems to think Kiwis don’t care about animal welfare and chose not to follow the UK’s lead.
Why the double standard?
After over a year of trying to engage Nando’s NZ in productive conversations about the needless suffering in their supply chain, we hit a wall. They just wouldn’t listen. Left with no other options, we took the campaign public – over 11,000 people signed our petition, others flooded Nando’s with messages, and protesters showed up at their stores, all demanding one thing: stop the worst forms of cruelty towards Nando’s chickens.
In 2023, we agreed to press pause on our campaign, while they discussed with their suppliers and SPCA about the potential progress. A year passed… and nothing. So in September 2024, we fired up the campaign again.
The pressure worked – kind of. Nando’s signed up for the SPCA Certification scheme, but here’s the catch: they were *already* buying chickens from Tegel’s SPCA-certified farms. Nando’s are desperately hoping the public will be fooled by their newly minted SPCA Certified membership. But we all know while this scheme does some great things, it doesn’t currently address the BIGGEST and most important thing – breed. The global trend away from bad, broken breeds is only growing. New Zealand won’t be an exception.
Sure, Nando’s has been bragging about “improvements” like perches and outdoor access (things that were already in place). But the real problem? Nando’s still uses a fast-growing breed of chicken that is prone to pain and suffering. Without addressing that, all the small changes just don’t cut it.
Head over to heartless-nandos.co.nz and let Nando’s leadership know: it’s time to stop the cruelty. Sign the Better Chicken Commitment.