Safeway Leading the Way on Animal Welfare

February 11, 2008


	©The HSUS
	Safeway is favoring producers who do not use cruel battery cages to confine laying hens.

Safeway is arguably the most recognizable name in U.S. grocery retailing. Now it has another distinction: becoming a leader in the grocery sector on animal welfare issues.

The California-based company has taken some important steps to improve the welfare of many animals used to supply its 1,743 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

These steps follow a series of talks with The HSUS and a Nov. 2007 shareholder resolution The HSUS filed with Safeway, addressing the improvement of the company's farm animal welfare standards. In light of Safeway's announcement, The HSUS withdrew that resolution.

Improving the Lives of Thousands of Animals


©Farm Sanctuary
Safeway has pledged to move away from producers who use gestation crates to confine breeding sows.

"Safeway's new policies represent important progress on basic animal welfare issues and will positively affect many thousands of animals," said Paul Shapiro, senior director of The HSUS's factory farming campaign. "Safeway's move also sends a strong message to the agribusiness industry that it must rapidly move away from the worst factory farming abuses, such as intensive confinement systems and the conventional poultry slaughter method."

Safeway has adopted the following new policies [PDF]:

Update

Right on the heels of the Safeway announcement, restaurant chain Denny's publicized plans to move to cage-free eggs.

It will establish a purchasing preference for cage-free eggs, which is "intended to favor producers who are converting away from battery-cage confinement systems." Safeway adds, "We hope this new policy will encourage the egg industry to move away from confining laying hens in battery cages."
It will more than double the percentage of cage-free eggs it offers to more than six percent of its total egg sales within two years.
It will establish a purchasing preference for pork from producers who do not confine breeding sows in gestation crates—which are cages so small the animals can't even turn around.
It will increase the proportion of gestation crate-free pork it offers by five percent over each of the next three years, to a total of 15 percent in 2010.
It will give purchasing preference to poultry slaughterers that use Controlled Atmosphere Stunning, which causes significantly less suffering than the conventional poultry slaughter method.

These new policies follow talks with The HSUS and independent dialogue with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

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