At HELL, we reckon good food and better animal welfare should go hand in hand.
That’s why we’ve signed up to the Australia New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) (Halal version), taking another step towards improving animal welfare across our supply chain.
We’re working towards 100% of the chicken in HELL’s supply chain meeting BCC welfare standards by 2030.
We’ve been working with animal welfare groups since 2021 to understand where we can make meaningful improvements and, importantly, how we can make them happen in New Zealand. Signing the BCC is the next step in that work.
There’s still plenty to do. New Zealand’s chicken supply chain will need to evolve alongside commitments like ours, so we’ll be working with our suppliers, the wider industry, and animal welfare organisations to build a practical pathway to meet the standards.
Our 2030 target will be reviewed as that work progresses and we have a clearer picture of what implementation looks like across the New Zealand supply chain.
So, what actually changes?
The Better Chicken Commitment is designed to improve the lives of chickens raised for meat.
It sets higher welfare standards covering things like how much space chickens have, lighting, litter and environmental enrichment, the breeds used, processing methods and independent auditing. It also promotes a move towards healthier slower-growing breeds.
Read the full Australia New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment standards
We’ll show our progress
Signing a commitment is the easy bit. Delivering on it is what matters. As our implementation plan develops, we’ll publish a BCC roadmap showing where we’re at, what we’ve achieved and what still needs to happen.
Our eventual goal is also to have our progress independently verified through Compassion in World Farming’s ChickenTrack once we reach the relevant milestones.
Animal welfare isn’t new territory for HELL. We’ve been backing better ingredient and sourcing choices for years, including becoming the first New Zealand company to offer free-range pizzas in 2015.
The Better Chicken Commitment is another step forward - and we’ll keep being open about how we’re tracking as we put it into practice.
Image credit: Wakker Dier