Burger Cruel

The footage and photos are from sheds on free-range farms that are certified by SPCA NZ.
There are only two breeds of chicken used commercially for meat in New Zealand by the largest chicken suppliers, Tegel and Ingham’s. Both breeds grow abnormally fast, which leads to many suffering chronic pain and lameness. BurgerFuel uses chickens from SPCA Certified farms. For all we know, BurgerFuel chicken comes from one of the sheds in the footage.

The conditions of the birds are therefore representative of the unhealthy, abnormally fast-growing chicken breeds that are used to supply BurgerFuel free-range chicken.

Chickens bred for meat deserve to live decent lives, without pain coded into their DNA. We think most BurgerFuel customers believe that too.

We first asked BurgerFuel to sign the Better Chicken Commitment back in 2021. Since then, other companies have taken this action to demand better welfare for chickens bred for meat. BurgerFuel has had the chance to meet with us and follow that lead, and has chosen not to.

We've launched this campaign to give BurgerFuel’s leadership the push they seem to need to align with their values and catch up with their peers - to make genuine, meaningful progress for chickens raised for meat. 

The chickens sold by BurgerFuel have been selectively bred to grow abnormally fast. These breeds of chicken grow so big and so fast that many suffer chronic pain and lameness. All BurgerFuel’s chickens are covered by the SPCA Certified scheme. Rapid growth causes widespread lameness and cardiovascular problems, leading to disabling and excruciating pain.

Some birds can’t lift their bodies up off the floor to reach food or water. Others struggle to breathe or suffer heart failure within weeks of being hatched. All because they’ve been bred to grow so much faster than nature intended.

There are healthier breeds that grow at a more natural rate, but a transition to these breeds needs demand from food brands to bring them to NZ.

As fresh chicken meat can’t be imported to NZ, due to biosecurity restrictions, the healthier breeds will need to be imported as hatching eggs, which will become the grandparent birds, who lay the eggs to produce the parent birds, who lay the eggs to produce the birds who are reared for meat.

Read more about why free-range chickens for meat still suffer.

SPCA Certified covers both free-range and fully indoor barn systems. Whichever the system,when inside the shed, the chickens have more space than the legal minimum. Behavioural enrichment inside sheds is required, including perches and objects to peck at. There is overhead shade and shelter at all times to encourage outdoor range use, where there is access to the outside. To allow for sleep, chickens get at least six hours of darkness daily instead of the legal minimum of four. These are improvements for chickens when compared to the legal minimums of the Meat Chicken Code of Welfare and an important step forward.

However, the same unhealthy, fast-growing breeds are used within all SPCA Certified chicken farms. Not only does this cause pain and suffering, it restricts the chicken’s physical ability to use enrichments or to get themselves outside and enjoy movement. This means BurgerFuel’s chicken welfare policies do not address the key cause of suffering to chickens.

Internationally, over 600 food businesses have signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment. So far, eight brands have done so in New Zealand:

• HELL
• Domino’s
• My Food Bag
• HelloFresh
• SwoleFoods
• The Coffee Club
• Columbus Coffee
• Mexico

The Better Chicken Commitment is a set of science-based criteria that lead to chickens having a higher quality of life. It means phasing out unhealthy chicken breeds that grow so abnormally fast, they reach the size of an adult bird in fewer than six weeks. It also means providing more space, enrichments within the sheds such as objects to peck at and perches to rest off the ground, and less pain and stress at slaughter. Learn more about the Better Chicken Commitment.

SPCA Has a higher welfare tier called 'SPCA Plus+.' As of yet, this tier is entirely optional.

The Better Chicken Commitment was adapted for the Australia-New Zealand region and is supported by:

• Anima International
• Animal Equality
• Animals Aotearoa
• Animals Australia
• Australian Alliance for Animals
• Compassion in World Farming
• Eurogroup for Animals
• FOUR PAWS Australia
• Humane World For Animals Australia
• Mercy For Animals
• Sinergia Animal
• Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) New Zealand
• The Humane League
• Veterinarians for Animal Welfare Aotearoa
• World Animal Protection