Wendy’s requiring reports on gestation crates from pork suppliers

In the latest move in its animal welfare standards program, fast food company Wendy’s International Inc. said it would require its pork suppliers to submit quarterly progress reports detailing their efforts to phase out controversial gestation crates.

Confining breeding sows to the crates has been criticized as cruel, and dozens of food companies, including Wendy’s, have said they would eliminate them from their supply chains.

In an update on its website, Wendy’s said it hopes to end the use of gestation crates in its supply chain by the end of 2022. It had previously required suppliers to submit plans on how they would end the practice.

“As a part of this commitment, we now require every raw material and finished product supplier to submit quarterly progress reports that reflect the percentage of stall-free pork supplied to Wendy’s,” the company said.

The company announced in 2012 its plans to eliminate the crates.

On Monday, the Humane Society of the United States praised the fast food company’s latest requirement.

“We appreciate that Wendy’s and other food companies are walking the walk when it comes to their commitments to eliminate a cruel system that’s simply out of step with how people think animals ought to be treated,” said Josh Balk, the Humane Society’s director of food policy. “There’s clearly no future for gestation crates in pork production.”