Heartless Nando’s

Nando’s is a brand all about chicken, and they sell a lot of it. Unfortunately, they are also selling a mirage of animal welfare. Nando's says they care about animal welfare by selling only free range chicken. But they are fully aware of the shocking conditions for chickens in their supply chains. They are aware that free range means very little improvement in quality of life for chickens bred for meat, when so many chickens are in too much pain to even make it out of the sheds. Find out more below - What about free range chicken?

In 2021, Animals Aotearoa asked Nando’s if they would be signing up to the higher welfare standards of the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). Nando's New Zealand knows the way chickens are currently suffering is unacceptable to anyone who cares about good animal welfare.

Over the next three years, we sent them numerous emails, included them in our ranking report of food delivery brands and continued to ask, “When will you stop using chickens bred to suffer?”

In November 2022, after exhausting other options, we launched our campaign against Nando’s. We know that Kiwis care about animals. Over 11,000 people signed our initial petition asking them to extend their welfare commitment to New Zealand. The campaign paused while Nando’s worked with the SPCA, but Nando’s unfortunately failed to do the right thing for chickens which is committing to ending the use of unnaturally fast-growing chicken breeds.

Nando’s hasn’t yet signed the BCC, so the campaign continues with no end in sight.

As such a big user of chicken, Nando’s can do good by committing NOW to purchasing higher welfare chickens by a future agreed deadline. Supply of better breeds is currently unavailable in New Zealand, as there is not yet enough guaranteed commercial demand. The big commercial producers, Tegel and Ingham’s, say they will improve their chicken welfare standards when companies demand it.

Disappointingly, so far, Nando’s have refused to be part of that solution. Years of encouragement to do better, but so far, they are sticking with suffering.

Nando’s have previously said their chicken is supplied by Tegel and from SPCA Certified farms. The images and videos used in this campaign were taken inside the sheds on SPCA Certified, free-range Tegel farms in New Zealand. The conditions of the birds are representative of the unhealthy, abnormally fast-growing chicken breeds that are used to supply Nando's.

As of October 2 2024, SPCA announced that Nando’s only buys SPCA Certified chicken, now as a public-facing policy. Nando's were already selling chicken certified by the SPCA directly from their supplier, Tegel. The policy wasn’t so public, but it was already there. Nothing has changed for the chickens Nando’s is selling.

SPCA Certified covers both free-range and fully indoor barn systems, and they certify around 90% of meat chicken farms in New Zealand. 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 as well as regular, uncertified chicken factory farms. This means Nando’s NZ standards do not address the key cause of suffering to chickens in NZ.

The same bad breeds who suffer explosive growth and extensive health problems are certified. Only a commitment to the Better Chicken Commitment, which requires a transition to healthier chicken breeds, will ensure the suffering shown in this campaign is addressed.

This campaign is focusing on Nando’s because of the abnormally fast-growing breeds used to supply Nando’s with free-range chicken. These unnatural breeds grow so big, so fast, that they suffer in many ways. Many have heart disease because their underdeveloped baby hearts are too weak to pump blood and oxygen around their bodies, and they struggle to walk because their legs are too weak to hold up their oversized bodies.

Read a full comparison of standards here.

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

The images and videos used in this campaign show the reality of all meat chicken farms in New Zealand, including free-range.

The term free-range is a marketing term, with standards written by the poultry industry themselves. When the public is shown the reality of so-called free-range conditions, they are most often shocked and deeply disappointed. 

Only a commitment to the Better Chicken Commitment, which requires a transition to healthier chicken breeds, will ensure the suffering shown in this campaign is addressed.

This campaign is focusing on Nando’s because of the abnormally fast-growing breeds used to supply Nando’s with free-range chicken. These unnatural breeds grow so big, so fast, that they suffer in many ways. Many have heart disease because their underdeveloped baby hearts are too weak to pump blood and oxygen around their bodies, and they struggle to walk because their legs are too weak to hold up their oversized bodies. This means many birds never get outside the crowded sheds. Some birds even collapse on the floor of the shed, unable to reach the food or water.

So far, eight food businesses in New Zealand, Domino’s, My Food Bag, HelloFresh, SwoleFoods, The Coffee Club, Columbus Coffee, HELL and Mexico, have already committed to the BCC. Nando’s needs to join them if they want to uphold the values they claim to believe in – ethical and sustainable farming. It’s time for Nando’s to do the right thing for chickens and for their Kiwi customers.

The Better Chicken Commitment is a set of science-based standards that give chickens 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. 

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