There’s an ingredient NZ’s pizza chains aren’t telling you about. The chicken on your pizza comes from baby birds bred to suffer. Most chains are counting on you never finding out.
We’ve ranked them.
Now it’s time to tell them you expect better.
Tell NZ pizza chains that chickens deserve better 👇
Businesses listen when you speak up.
Your letter will be sent to Pizza Hut, HELL, Sal’s and Pizza Club (the four largest pizza chains in New Zealand that have not signed the Better Chicken Commitment). We’re asking them to lead by example and commit to higher welfare standards for chickens in their supply chain by signing the Better Chicken Commitment.
The chicken on your pizza comes from birds bred to grow so unnaturally fast that many cannot walk. They are just babies, slaughtered at only five weeks old.
Most New Zealanders would be horrified to know the truth.
We've ranked New Zealand's pizza chains by their action on chicken welfare.
You may be surprised by the results.
The bird behind your pizza
Chickens raised for New Zealand pizza chains are selectively bred to grow so fast their legs struggle to hold their own weight. Many never make it outside, even on free-range farms. They live in chronic pain and are slaughtered before they are six weeks old.
One-third of NZ meat chickens experience painful lameness*. More than 120 million chickens are slaughtered for meat annually in New Zealand, meaning that tens of millions of chickens are living with chronic pain.
What about Free Range?
Some pizza chains will point to their use of free-range chicken as evidence that they take animal welfare seriously. It sounds reassuring. It isn't.
Free-range certification in New Zealand has no legal definition. It is an industry-created standard, not endorsed by any independent animal welfare organisation. But the deeper problem isn't the label, it's the bird underneath it.
Chickens raised commercially for meat in New Zealand, including those on free-range farms, come from breeds that have been shaped by decades of selective breeding to grow at an abnormal rate.
WATCH: The Truth Behind the Box
There is a better way
The Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) is a set of scientifically-backed minimum standards developed by over 30 leading animal protection organisations worldwide. It has become the global benchmark for how food businesses can meaningfully improve the lives of chickens in their supply chains.
By signing the BCC, a business commits to:
- Use healthier, slower-growing chicken breeds
- Provide more space per bird and improved living conditions
- Adopt more reliable slaughter methods
- Use third-party auditing and perform annual reporting
While over 600 food businesses worldwide, including major global chains, have successfully adopted the BCC, New Zealand's pizza sector is falling behind.
The Ranking
🟢 Domino's
A crust you can trust
In 2021 they became the only NZ pizza chain to sign the Better Chicken Commitment, stepping out ahead of every competitor.
🟠 Spagalimis
The conversation we wanted to have
The only chain that meaningfully engaged with our outreach. They haven't signed yet, but they showed up.
🔴 HELL Pizza
The devil is in the detail
Contacted multiple times since 2021. Excuse after excuse. A brand brave enough to name itself after the underworld is choosing Hell for the chickens they sell.
🔴 Pizza Hut · Pizza Express + more
No response. No commitment.
Household names. Friday night staples. Not one has signed the Better Chicken Commitment.
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* Data comes from the most recent study on chicken health conducted by the Ministry for Primary Industries in 2013.
Ending the suffering of farmed animals.
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Animals Aotearoa Registered Charity
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