Migros’ Decision to Weaken Animal Welfare Standards: A Step Backward for Ethics and Sustainability

Migros recently announced that imported meat products will not have to meet Swiss animal welfare standards anymore. This move marks a significant setback for animal rights, consumer transparency, as well as Switzerland’s reputation as a leader in ethical food production. Sentience, alongside many other organisations committed to reducing animal suffering and promoting responsible food choices, is deeply concerned by this development.

A Reversal on Animal Welfare Commitments

Whilst Switzerland has relatively high animal welfare standards compared to many other countries, there is still significant room for improvement to ensure that farmed animals are treated with the level of care and respect they deserve.

By removing the requirement for imported meat to meet Swiss standards, Migros is effectively choosing to prioritise lower costs over the welfare of non-human animals. This is a disappointing departure from the company’s previous commitments to sustainability and ethical sourcing.

This weakening of standards not only halts progress towards better animal welfare, but it also actively undermines existing protections – which makes it even harder to achieve meaningful improvements in the future. Factory farms in many countries still allow extreme confinement, painful procedures without anesthesia, and harsh transport conditions that would be illegal under Swiss law. By accepting these lower standards, Migros is allowing more suffering to occur.

A Betrayal of Promises Made to Consumers

Last year, we launched the “STOP pre-programmed suffering!” campaign and petition, in which we urged Migros and Coop to stop using fast-growing chicken breeds and commit to the European Chicken Commitment by 2026. Thanks to your support, we gathered over 12’825 signatures and presented our petition to both retailers. They agreed to continue discussions in the summer of 2025. However, this latest development from Migros will undoubtedly make it more difficult for them to uphold the commitments they made — to us and to everyone who signed the petition.

Migros has long presented itself as a socially responsible company, one that is committed to sustainability and ethical business practices. In fact, the company made explicit promises to its consumers, particularly under the “Generation M” sustainability initiative, to uphold Swiss animal welfare standards for all imported products. This latest decision constitutes a clear violation of that promise; it undermines consumer trust, and makes Migros’ sustainability claims ring hollow.

Sentience Stands Against This Decision

Alongside other animal rights and environmental organisations, we have signed an open letter urging Migros to reconsider its stance. The letter highlights the contradiction between Migros’ claims of sustainability and its decision to import meat from sources that do not meet Swiss standards. It also stresses the need for retailers to take responsibility for shaping consumer habits, rather than simply responding to short-term market trends.

Migros’ decision to allow imported meat that fails to meet Swiss animal welfare standards directly threatens our upcoming popular initiative to guarantee outdoor access for all farmed animals in Switzerland. By creating a blatant double standard — one for Swiss producers and another for foreign imports — Migros is actively undermining efforts to improve farming conditions. This move not only puts economic pressure on Swiss farmers who uphold higher welfare standards, but it also fuels the expansion of industrial farming practices that prioritise profit over animal welfare.

Now more than ever, we must fight for stronger legal protections to prevent vested interests from dictating the future of animal welfare in Switzerland.

Your Voice Matters

As consumers who care about animal welfare, you have the power to make a difference. Demand that Migros changes course, support retailers that prioritise higher welfare standards, and consider replacing your consumption of animal-derived products by plant-based alternatives.

Migros now faces a choice: uphold its reputation as a responsible retailer or fuel a system that puts profit before ethics. We urge them to change course — before it is too late.