Walmart Canada has the chance to win customers through transparency
As new study finds close confinement of pigs could prompt shoppers to rethink buying pork
TORONTO, April 17, 2018 /CNW/ - Pigs are among the most intensively farmed animals on the planet, suffering at every stage of their lives. Around the world, three out of four mother pigs remain in cages. Used as breeding machines, their young taken from them, these pigs spend their lives in steel cages no bigger than a fridge.
In 2013, the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), an industry-funded association including major grocery brands Walmart, Loblaw and Sobeys, led the way with an ambitious commitment to eliminate sow stalls from their supply chain and only source fresh pork products from mother pigs raised in group and pen housing by the end of 2022.
As the deadline approaches, World Animal Protection is asking Walmart Canada to publicly reaffirm their commitment. "So far Walmart Canada has been quiet about their progress to improve the lives of pigs. We believe they have a duty to provide this information to their customers," says Josey Kitson, Executive Director for World Animal Protection Canada. Walmart Canada has publicly shared their commitment to source only cage-free eggs on their website but provides no similar statement for their pork products.
"Canadian consumers expect their supermarkets to ensure animals are raised right and they deserve to know how animals farmed for their food are treated," says Kitson. "More than half of consumers would likely stop buying pork if they knew the mother pigs or piglets suffered." A new study for World Animal Protection, conducted by Voodoo Research found that:
- 92% of Canadians believe it is important that pigs are reared in conditions with high welfare standards
- 75% of people in Canada found the harsh reality of industrial pig farming around the world 'upsetting', 'wrong' or 'shocking'
- 52% would reconsider buying pork knowing that mother pigs are confined in cages, unable to move, when giving birth and rearing their young.
World Animal Protection is asking the public to sign their petition to encourage Walmart Canada to be a vocal leader in raising pigs right. "As part of the RCC, Walmart Canada has already made the important commitment. It's time now for this iconic and influential brand to share the exciting news with their customers," adds Kitson.
Around the world, World Animal Protection is working with producers to develop higher welfare systems that let mother pigs live in social groups and not in tiny cages. They are appealing to the public to help drive this change by signing on to petitions and showing the world's biggest supermarkets that their customers want to see pigs raised right. Find out more at worldanimalprotection.ca
Notes to Editors
- For media interviews, images or video clips, please contact: Beth Sharpe, Communications Director at 416 369 0044 x111 or [email protected]
- Four studies were commissioned by World Animal Protection and conducted by Voodoo Research between October 2017 and March 2018, covering 11 countries and five continents. In Canada, 1,012 people were surveyed with a representative sample size by age, gender and geographic region.
About World Animal Protection
World Animal Protection (formerly known as the World Society for the Protection of Animals) has moved the world to protect animals for the last 50 years. World Animal Protection works to give animals a better life. Its activities include working with companies to ensure high standards of welfare for the animals in their care, working with governments and other stakeholders to prevent wild animals being cruelly traded, trapped or killed, and saving the lives of animals and the livelihoods of the people who depend on them in disaster situations. More information on World Animal Protection can be found at: worldanimalprotection.ca
SOURCE World Animal Protection
For further information: Beth Sharpe, Communications Director, 416 369 0044 x111, or [email protected]
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