The Belgian animal rights organisation GAIA took action at McDonald’s branches in Brussels, Namur and Antwerp on Wednesday to protest against the multinational’s use of intensively farmed chicken meat.
GAIA set up large screens in front of the fast-food chain displaying images of the "ordeal endured by broiler chickens in intensive farming". The organisation condemns the way that tens of thousands of chickens are crammed into sheds with no access to the outdoors and no natural light.
"The population density can be as high as 22 chickens per m2, meaning that each bird has a living space smaller than an A4 sheet of paper. The birds are unable to stand upright and behave like the living dead: they have been reduced to the state of zombies."
The action group wants McDonald’s to sign the "Better Chicken Commitment" – a pledge to improve the quality of life of broiler chickens. GAIA director Ann De Greef says that the multinational has so far refused to sign the document "on the pretext that this commitment could increase the environmental footprint of its chicken production."
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Commenting on the protests, McDonald’s told Belga News Agency that it is "continually taking steps to improve the welfare of chickens," insisting that it already goes beyond legal requirements.
"Since 2018 our chickens in Belgium have come from converted hen houses where the poultry have access to daylight, straw bales and perches to stimulate their natural behaviour."
