Heartless Nando’s

We are calling out Nando’s chicken double standard. What they’re selling Kiwis is inferior to their overseas standards. New Zealanders are being offered a lower, lesser option with more suffering as a combo deal.

This is because in New Zealand, Nando’s uses chickens whose bad breed means they suffer, whereas back in 2020, Nando’s in the UK and Ireland decided they needed to do better for chickens and signed up to the higher welfare standards of Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), meaning they are transitioning to only using only healthier, better breeds.

In 2021, Animals Aotearoa asked Nando’s if they would be signing the BCC in New Zealand, to be consistent with their standards. 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 chickens in NZ get the same treatment?”

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 by committing to improving breed. Nando’s hasn’t yet signed the BCC, which means the campaign continues. We can’t accept anything less than the globally approved and proven pathway for improved welfare.

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 their lower standards in New Zealand.

Nando’s chicken is supplied by Tegel. The images and videos used in this campaign were taken inside the sheds on 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 Tegel free-range chicken.

As of October 2 2024, SPCA announced that Nando’s only buys SPCA Certified chicken, now as a public-facing policy. Nandos 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. 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, and remain behind their UK and Irish counterparts.

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 by Tegel 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 by Tegel 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, Bird On A Wire 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

The minimum legal standards allow for the use of unhealthy fast-growing breeds of chickens. The chickens are kept in barren sheds with around 40,000 other birds. There are no requirements for enrichments, perches or natural light.

Under a free-range system (as defined by the chicken industry), the birds are given potential access to the outside of the shed via “pop-holes” in the shed wall. The same unhealthy chicken breeds are still used (who often struggle to walk), and the indoor stocking densities remain almost as high as the minimum requirements (with still up to 36,000 chickens per shed). The combination means many birds struggle to get outside.

As of October 2 2024, SPCA announced that Nando’s only buys SPCA Certified chicken. 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. Where outdoor access is provided, there is overhead shade and shelter at all times to encourage outdoor range use. 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 Codes of Welfare and an important step forward.

However, the same unhealthy, fast-growing breeds are used in both the Certified scheme, and in all factory farm production in NZ, meaning Nando’s NZ standards do not address the key cause of suffering to chickens, and remain behind their UK and Irish counterparts.

Read a full comparison of standards here.