18 major food brands including KFC, Burger King, Nando’s, Wingstop, Popeyes, Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Frankie & Benny’s, Wagamama, the Cosy Club and Pizza Hut have announced their deeply concerning decision to drop their Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), citing difficulty transitioning to slower-growing breeds.

This week (4 March), we responded to this extremely frustrating news – alongside The Humane League UK and the RSPCA – by issuing an open letter to the companies that have broken their promise to improve chicken welfare, urging them to reconsider and demonstrate their ethical leadership.

BCC benchmarks

The BCC – a science-based initiative designed to drive welfare improvements for meat chickens – includes measures such as:

the use of slower-growing, healthier breeds
lower stocking densities to give chickens more space,
access to enriched environments and natural light.

Crucially, the pledge requirements hinge on companies moving away from fast-growing breeds to more robust, slower-growing breeds. Without this transition chickens cannot fully benefit from improved housing or enrichment.

What’s really on the menu?

Almost all chicken sold in UK restaurants or fast-food chains (95%) are fast-growing breeds engineered to grow so big and so fast that their limbs and organs frequently can’t keep up. Birds often develop lame and crippled legs, collapsed organs from heart and lung failure and sores developed from lying in their own muck.

Inevitably, natural behaviours, such as their ability to move around, explore, perch and engage with their natural environment, are severely limited.

A foolish move

Anthony Field, our Head of UK, said:

It’s utterly reprehensible that these 18 well-known high street brands have ditched their Better Chicken Commitment to move to slower-growing, higher-welfare meat chicken breeds. 

The BCC is based on science and built on trust. Reneging now as the 2026 deadline looms is a foolish move, particularly as it comes when recent research by Reading University and commissioned by Defra, reflect the public demands for higher animal welfare is extremely high and when the UK Government’s Animal Welfare Strategy included a commitment to support efforts to move away from the use of fast-growing meat chicken breeds.   

Any brand dodging the BCC shows a lack of responsibility, commitment and foresight, and are at significant risk of reputational damage. There is no excuse for animal cruelty.

Shortsighted claims

The companies have instead set up the Sustainable Chicken Forum and claim that a move to higher-welfare breeds will compromise food security or environmental outcomes, but this is misleading.

Companies delivering on their BCC pledges are successfully balancing cost, welfare and environmental considerations, whilst meeting consumer demand for higher welfare chicken.

Policy momentum is also building. The UK Government committed to supporting voluntary efforts to transition away from fast-growing broiler breeds, and Norway has announced a phase-out of fast-growing chickens, recognising the serious welfare implications of their continued use. 

Intensive chicken hotspots

Explore our factory farming map to see if you live in an intensive chicken hotspot.

High-street food brands backtrack on chicken welfare