February 14, 2012

McDonald's stresses humane treatment for sows

McDonald's Corp wants its pork suppliers to abolish confinement of sows in controversial gestation stalls, said source on Monday (Feb 13).

"McDonald's believes gestation stalls are not a sustainable production system for the future," Dan Gorsky, a senior vice president at the company said. "There are alternatives that we think are better for the welfare of sows."

Pork production companies like Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD) and Cargill Inc. are already working to remove the cages from their operations, Gorsky said.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) praised McDonald's decision. "The HSUS has been a long-time advocate for ending the use of gestation crates, and McDonald's announcement is important and promising," said Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the group.

"All animals deserve humane treatment, including farm animals, and it's just wrong to immobilise animals for their whole lives in crates barely larger than their bodies."