Actions, not words: Help us end preprogrammed suffering NOW!
8 percent of chickens ever see the light of day during their lives. Worse, 92 percent of all chickens belong to so-called “high-performance breeds”, where suffering is genetically preprogrammed. Coop and Migros have the power to stop this trend. Instead, they continue to fuel it with misleading advertising. In doing so, they demonstrate how little they truly care about animal welfare. In our view, enough is enough!
The number of chickens slaughtered has nearly doubled over the past 20 years. In 2023, over 83 million chickens were slaughtered in Switzerland – a true disaster for animal welfare! Fast-growing strains of broiler chickens live only 30 days. They gain weight so rapidly that they can barely stand up by the end of their lives. Many fast-growing chickens develop cardiovascular diseases because their hearts can no longer adequately supply blood to their bodies. Between 2 and 4 percent of these animals die even before being slaughtered.
With a market share of nearly 80 percent, Coop and Migros bear a critical responsibility for this alarming development. The two giant retailers often boast about their animal welfare commitments. Yet, when it comes to chicken meat – which is in high demand – the importance of animal welfare seems to be overlooked. International comparisons show that, even in Switzerland, chickens are given only the space of a single A4 piece of paper to live, and fast-growing breeds found here are the same as those abroad.
END preprogrammed suffering!
With the European Chicken Commitment, more and more companies worldwide are committing to abandoning high-performance breeds. It is high time that Coop and Migros follow this example and fulfil their role as leaders in animal welfare.
Our demands:
- The adoption of slower-growing breeds: We call on Coop and Migros to stop using fast-growing broiler hybrids completely by the end of 2026, and to replace them with more robust, slower-growing breeds that meet the requirements of the European Chicken Commitment.
- No promotion of problematic products: We demand that Coop and Migros completely stop promoting problematic products by the end of 2024. This includes advertising and campaigns for products from intensive chicken farming. This requirement should also apply to imported products.
- Increased transparency: We ask Coop and Migros to provide transparent reporting on the selection of chicken breeds used. We also call for the development and publication of a strategy detailing how their entire supply chains will meet the criteria of the European Chicken Commitment by 2026.
- Closer cooperation: We ask Coop and Migros to establish regular exchanges with animal welfare organisations. This should include meetings for dialogue, as well as the implementation of a feedback mechanism through which these organisations can express their concerns about animal welfare practices.
To pressure Coop and Migros, we need your help NOW! By the end of October, we need as many people as possible to join us against preprogrammed suffering and for “Animal Dignity NOW!”
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