Win for chickens – HELL Pizza signs the Better Chicken Commitment

Bad breeds can go to hell – HELL Pizza signs the Better Chicken Commitment.

This is a big deal. The HELL franchise is a huge brand with nationwide recognition; a household name known for taking strong stances. HELL was a very early adopter of free-range eggs back in 2015. Now they’re taking action to raise the welfare bar for chickens bred for meat, for whom breed change is crucial.

What does this mean for chickens? 

The Better Chicken Commitment (often called the BCC) is a set of agreed criteria that address some of the worst suffering for chickens bred for meat. It includes more space, natural light, better environments and crucially, an end to the use of abnormally fast-growing breeds. 

Here in New Zealand, the chickens raised commercially for meat, including free-range, 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.

A signature on the BCC is crucial because free-range alone doesn’t address the fundamental suffering coded into their DNA. Breed change is the key that unlocks better lives for these chickens.

HELL have published a comprehensive position statement on their website stating their full support for transitioning to the BCC. 

Securing HELL as a new signatory, joining Domino’s, HelloFresh, the Coffee Club and others, to the BCC is a big step forward for chicken welfare in New Zealand. It signals to other brands that this is the future, and helps other businesses recognise that they need to do better. 

What’s next?

Some of our work is visible, but lots goes on behind the scenes. Better, healthier chicken breeds don’t just show up in New Zealand supply chains on their own. We need to push to make it happen. Aotearoa’s chicken producers have publicly said they will import healthier genetics when there’s more demand.

The chicken industry, dominated by Tegel and Ingham’s, is profiting from pain and suffering. It’s a big step in the right direction to stop the industry from using these abnormally fast-growing breeds, and it’s going to save millions of birds from countless hours of debilitating pain and suffering.