Questions answered
There are 65 questions about “Animal welfare” in the “How do you operate?” topic.
Click on a question to read our answer.
- 31. Why is it that, despite the fact that the "force chickens to breath knockout gas" system (that is employed in many slaughterhouses to stun the birds) has been proven to be more effecient, you still use chickens that have been killed in inhumane ways (by ((sometimes unsucessfully)) dipping the birds into electrified water ((the birds that survive this are fully awake when they are decapitated))
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The first thing to say is that you can rest assured that McDonald’s has the very highest standards in place to ensure that the rearing and slaughter of poultry is carried out in the most humane and compassionate manner currently on offer in any given country and is monitored by qualified personnel and independent vets. McDonald’s will not work with any supplier that does not adhere to both the internal requirements created in conjunctions with independent animal welfare experts alongside those required by UK and EU legislation.
In terms of your specific question, there are very few chicken slaughterhouses in the UK that use controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS), the knockout gas you refer to, and it is not a method used by McDonald’s suppliers in the UK. On mainland Europe, some plants use CAS and McDonald’s may source meat from suppliers using this system when demand requires it. However, it is worth noting that animal experts have advised that this method is humane.
The electric stunning process is the more universal method of slaughter and, as such, has been the focus of many checks to ensure that it is as compassionate a method as possible. However, McDonald’s is committed to working very closely with researchers to provide even more humane methods of slaughter and this might include the development of the use of controlled atmosphere stunning in poultry slaughterhouses.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 32. I know your chickens are reared free range, but are the cows reared in free range conditions (or the cow equivalent!)?
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McDonald’s egg-laying chickens are free-range. However, the term free range technically only applies to poultry. The beef cattle that are reared for McDonald’s meat are often kept in the fields outside during spring and summer, and in winter they may be kept in barns. Have a look at the recent Quality Scout farm visit reports on this website to see for yourself.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 33. What is the longest journey that any of the cattle that go into your beef have to make to slaugter? Could we see some video clips of the killing so that we could judge how humane it is?
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McDonald’s sources beef through suppliers from a number of abattoirs strategically located in cattle-producing parts of the British Isles to minimise the distance that animals are transported. McDonald’s specifications for the procurement of cattle require that no animals shall travel for more than four hours from farm to abattoir. The maximum time laid down by legislation is eight hours. McDonald’s also requires that its suppliers (abattoirs) monitor and document all journey times of the cattle destined for their business: This information is frequently audited by inspectors who regularly check the plants to ensure compliance. McDonald’s will be shortly be sending a Quality Scout to an abattoir and a meat processing plant and the reports will be published on this site, so keep an eye out for this.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 34. Why do people say you put chemicals in animals to kill them and then cut them in half in front of people?
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What you have heard is not true. Chemicals are not used to kill animals. Each animal is stunned unconscious prior to being slaughtered, and will not feel a thing during the procedure. McDonald’s has standards in place that are continually monitored to ensure that the slaughter of animals is carried out in a humane and compassionate manner by qualified personnel and under veterinary supervision.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 35. Are there test(s) run on the farms that supply your meat, for the animals welfare?
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McDonald’s UK will only source meat from farms that are approved by a recognised, independently audited farm assurance scheme that includes animal welfare in its criteria. McDonald’s UK suppliers also carry out animal welfare checks on the farms where their meat comes from as part of their own routine quality checks. Further, the McDonald's Quality Assurance Team, several of whom are fully qualified animal welfare officers, also regularly inspect all aspects of the food supply chain to ensure the animals are healthy, including the provision of feed, bedding, shelter, lighting and comfort. As part of the Make Up Your Own Mind campaign, McDonald’s are also sending out members of the public – McDonald’s Quality Scouts - to visit various farms to find out more about McDonald’s suppliers and question the farmers about their practices. You can read the Quality Scouts reports on this website.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 36. before i eat at your famous chain, i was hoping that you could enlighten me on a few points. are the chickens used to make your assuredly delicious mcnuggets sourced from battery-reared, sightless chickens? i was also curious to know whether or not your cattle are reared by the use of routine antibiotics, and whether or not they are raised in factory-style sunless farms? are either of these animals given hormones which induce growth/maturity in order to fulfil demand for burgers/nuggets?
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‘Battery chickens' is a term referring to egg producing hens, and McDonald's only uses free-range eggs. With regards to chickens reared for meat, McDonald's has strict animal welfare standards in place that are continually monitored to ensure that the rearing of chickens is carried out in a humane and compassionate manner. The British Poultry Council sets high standards of welfare in relation to the production of chicken, which is managed through a set of standards called Assured Chicken Production (ACP). McDonald’s will not work with any supplier that cannot adhere to these high standards, and to those required by UK and EU legislation. With regards to cattle, they are normally kept outside in the fields during spring and summer and in winter they may also be kept in barns. Feed for both chickens and cattle are free from antibiotic growth promoters or hormones. If you want to find out more about how McDonald’s sources and produces its food, why not follow the progress of the McDonald’s Quality Scouts on this web site? The first Scout, an independent member of the public, has just reported back on her visit to a McDonald’s cattle farm.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 37. What hormones do beef cattle used receive? How and where is the beef slaughtered - is it local to farms are are the cattle transported long distances? If transported Why and How?
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Hormones are strictly forbidden by the requirements of McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Programme (MAAP) and, in fact, the use of hormones is forbidden in cattle feed throughout the UK and Europe. Each animal is stunned unconscious prior to slaughter and will not feel a thing during the procedure. McDonald’s has standards in place that are continually monitored to ensure that the slaughter of animals is carried out in a humane and compassionate manner by qualified personnel and under veterinary supervision. For McDonald’s to procure the quantity of beef for burgers, the company source through suppliers from a number of abattoirs (22) throughout the British Isles. These are strategically located in cattle-producing parts of the country. This minimises the distance that animals are transported. McDonald’s also adheres to the strict legal requirements laid down on transport times and the condition of vehicles to ensure the animals’ welfare is well maintained.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 38. What kind of conditions are the chickens reared in? Also why do you not do a plain chicken burger that isn't covered in breadcrumbs & deep fried. The beefburger isn't coated and cooked on the hotplate which is much healthier.
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The British Poultry Council sets the standards in relation to the production of chicken, which is managed through a set of standards called Assured Chicken Production (ACP) and all McDonald’s chicken suppliers to must conform to these directives. Chickens are reared on selected farms that are regularly audited by McDonald’s Animal Welfare Officers across all aspects of their welfare from feed through to transportation. McDonald’s is reviewing the potential for commercially-viable volumes of free range chicken, through the Food Animal Initiative which it co-sponsors. In regards to a plain chicken burger, McDonalds did at one time sell a Grilled Chicken Sandwich, but due to low customer interest, it was removed from the menu.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 39. How are the animals kept and farmed which are used to make your food?
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Beef cattle used for McDonald's meat in the UK are reared in the UK and Ireland. They are largely kept outdoors but may be kept undercover during the winter months. They’re fed a grass-based diet that is supplemented with cereals and cereal crops. The chickens are reared by UK and Brazilian suppliers, all of whom must adhere to the directives set out in the Assured Chicken Production (ACP) scheme, which controls all aspects of chicken farming including feed and animal welfare. You might like to look at the first Quality Scout report now live on the site for a behind-the-scenes report on a McDonald’s farm.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 40. A number of replies to animal welfare questions mention your policies about rearing, transport and slaughter. Can you actually tell me what the policies are?
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It would be difficult to list all the policies in the website format. However, you can view McDonald’s Worldwide Corporate Responsibility Report, which lists the company’s animal welfare policies at http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/values/report.htm.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 41. Is it true that your suppliers mistreat animals ?
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Absolutely not. The welfare of animals matters to McDonald's and the company knows it matters to you. For that reason McDonald's will not work with any supplier who does not adhere to the company's high standards, and those required by UK and EU legislation. In addition McDonald's works with internationally renowned welfare experts to ensure best practices are in place. People might also be surprised to hear that last year McDonald's was awarded an RSPCA Alternative Award for commitment to improving animal welfare in the ‘fast food’ category. To ensure that every step in the supply chain is monitored and that everyone lives up to these high standards, in 2002 the McDonald’s Agricultural Assurance Programme was set up. McDonald’s encourages its suppliers to continually explore advances in animal rearing and husbandry and also to encourage their own suppliers to do the same.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 42. What are the growth hormones used in the production of the beef you use?
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There are no growth hormones used. The use of hormones, meat and bone meal are forbidden in cattle feed throughout the UK and Europe.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 43. now that your nuggets only contain the breasts of the chickens rather than the whole animal, does this mean you will be slaughtering four times as many chickens to compensate?
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No, nothing goes to waste. Chicken meat not used by McDonald’s will be used in other capacities by other retailers. For instance, the drumsticks and chicken wings are popular barbecue items and will most likely end up in supermarkets.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 44. my teacher said in a science lesson that when you kill the cows you tie their legs up and put them on a machine with high pressure water and literally burst the cow is that true
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Your teacher is very wrong on this matter. In fact, the animals are treated humanely to ensure that they are unconscious and that the procedure is as quick and hygienic as possible. This is done under veterinary supervision, and each animal is individually stunned before the main artery is cut. There is no high pressure water used at this stage because it would be very dangerous to do so. Water is only used to clean down the slaughter area. Water may be used later to clean the carcasses.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 45. where is your meat from and do you look into the treatment of the animals involved?
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McDonald’s beef is sourced from over 16,000 British and Irish farms. At times of exceptionally high demand, it can also come from farms in other European Union countries. McDonald's believe that the welfare of animals is very important and for that reason will not work with any supplier that does not adhere to both its own high standards, and those required by UK and EU legislation. In 2002 the McDonald’s Agricultural Assurance Programme was set up to make sure that every step in the supply chain is monitored.
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