Danish retail chain commits to huge boost in animal welfare
The Danish retail chain REMA 1000 will significantly increase sales of pork and poultry raised at the highest level of animal welfare. This is happening through a new partnership with Animal Protection Denmark, in which REMA 1000 is the first retail chain in Denmark to enter a total phasing out of fast-growing poultry.
REMA 1000 customers will soon be able to buy significantly more food products from animals that have lived out in the open and with more space. Animal Protection Denmark and REMA 1000, a leading discount chain in Denmark, have recently signed an agreement to raise animal welfare to the highest level for far more products produced from pigs, chickens, and cows.
Among other things, the agreement means that, within the next two to three years, 25 percent of the sale of all fresh pork and poultry must come from free range productions.
At the same time, the sale of the fast-growing chicken breed Ross 308 is being phased out completely.
This is very good news for all of the many farmed animals for whom the agreement will mean a life with access to the outdoors, more space, and the opportunity to live out their natural behaviours. The agreement with REMA 1000 is the result of a long and thorough dialogue, in which ambitious goals have been set for both the short and long term. These are goals that will very quickly impact our range of products as well as the marketing of goods with high animal welfare so that the Danish consumer can easily choose good animal welfare when making their daily purchases. This is an agreement that in many ways shows the path forward in the Danish retail market.Britta Riis, CEO of Animal Protection Denmark
We’re finding that more and more customers want to buy products with high animal welfare, which are approved by Animal Protection Denmark, because there is enormous trust in their brand. Trust that we share, and we want to give the customers the opportunity to make even broader choices.Anders René Jensen, Purchasing and Marketing director at REMA 1000
The ‘Approved by Animal Protection Denmark’ label is a registered guarantee and certification label, which may only be used on products where the production has been approved by Animal Protection Denmark in accordance with established requirements. The label has existed for 30 years on the Danish market and has only one level of animal welfare, meaning, among other things, that it is only given to agricultural operations where the animals have access to the outdoors.
