Each year, The Pecking Order report assesses the performance of companies across seven European countries in relation to the European Chicken Commitment (ECC), which lays down a set of minimum standards to ensure animal welfare across the supply chain. While over 300 companies have committed to the ECC, projects such as The Pecking Order make sure that they are held accountable.
The 2025 report, produced collaboratively by World Animal Protection, Essere Animali, Humane World for Animals and OBRAZ, notes that progress towards adopting and achieving the goals set out in the ECC is slow. Only 37 out of 81 companies have policies aligning to the ECC, and only 31 companies are publishing meaningful data that offers transparency on their policies and practices.
The report also reveals stark differences between countries. France leads the rankings, with several producers putting measures in place to support higher welfare for their chickens reared for meat, showing concrete progress is possible. Sweden and Denmark also perform relatively well, but by contrast, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania continue to lag far behind.
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