The Albert Schweitzer Foundation and Fundacja Alberta Schweitzera welcome Res-Drob, the first Polish meat producer, to the European Chicken Commitment. The company will implement the initiative’s animal welfare criteria for its own operations and for all of its suppliers by 2026. By enforcing these changes across its entire production, Res-Drob is sustainably improving conditions in chicken farming in the long run. Res-Drob exports 50% of its products to Germany and other countries in Western Europe as well as to Eastern Europe, Asia and Central Africa.
»We are very pleased with Res-Drob’s commitment, which is an important signal for the entire industry. We hope that this will convince others to join the Chicken Commitment,« said Ewa Prokopiak, corporate relations manager at Fundacja Alberta Schweitzera. »The initiative is being supported by companies from all sectors in many countries around the world – meat producers, the food industry and retail. This shows that real change is happening with regard to animal welfare standards in conventional chicken farming.«
»This decision will affect millions of chickens per year. We will implement the high standards of the European Chicken Commitment to improve animal welfare throughout the supply chain. There is no doubt that we – as one of the largest producers – have sent a clear signal regarding the direction in which Polish poultry farming should be headed,« says Marek Jurkiewicz, President of Res-Drob.
More than 440 companies are already supporting the initiative worldwide
To date, more than 445 companies from the U.S. and Europe have committed to raising their animal welfare standards according to the European Chicken Commitment (also called the Better Chicken Commitment in the U.S. and the U.K.). These include large corporations such as Nestlé and Unilever, top caterers such as Sodexo, manufacturers such as Rügenwalder Mühle, restaurant chains such as Ikea, Domino’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, and retail chains such as Aldi and Norma. In addition to Res-Drob, participating producers include Frisch-Geflügel Claus, the Plukon Food Group and CPF Denmark.
The European Chicken Commitment was initiated by the Albert Schweitzer Foundation and around 30 other NGOs from all over Europe. With the help of a catalog of requirements for companies, which addresses the most critical issues in chicken farming, the Commitment is establishing a new universal minimum standard.
More space, less suffering
One of the most important criteria of the European Chicken Commitment is the ban of common breeding lines and specific breeds that suffer from many health problems, mainly due to their enormous growth. The initiative also requires the reduction of stocking density and improvement of overall housing conditions by providing access to daylight, better air quality and access to perches and pecking substrates. Animals must be stunned in a less stressful and safer manner prior to slaughter. Compliance with standards must be ensured through independent audits.
Links
- You can find Res-Drob’s commitment here: https://resdrob.co.uk/news
- More about the European Chicken Commitment: https://albertschweitzerfoundation.org/campaigns/european-chicken-commitment