Commitment Language
Below, we present examples of animal welfare commitments from the egg and pork supply chains.
Sample Language
The highlighted sections indicate the key elements needed to ensure clarity, alignment, and consistency in company policies.
The wording is standardized to align companies with market and societal best practices.
The timelines indicate the maximum recommended timeframe; adopting shorter timelines is always encouraged.
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[Company Name] commits to no longer marketing eggs [specify whether shell and/or processed eggs] from caged production systems across its operations and will complete this transition by 20XX, publicly reporting annually on the progress made.
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Buyers:
The [Company Name] commits to using and/or marketing products containing pork (fresh and processed) sourced exclusively from group-housed gestation systems, preferably with the “pre-implantation” system. This commitment applies to all of our operations in Brazil. We will complete this transition by 2031 and publicly report our progress as a percentage each year.
Suppliers:
The [Company Name] commits to the following animal welfare guidelines for pigs:
- We will adopt group housing for pregnant sows by 2031. In mixed systems, individual crates will be used for a maximum of 28 days after insemination and, in “pre-implantation” system, for a maximum of 7 days after insemination;
- We will adopt "pre-implantation" system for all new facilities and expansions from the date this commitment is published;
- We will ban surgical castration without anesthesia and analgesia by 2026;
- We will ban teeth clipping and grinding from the date this commitment is published. Teeth grinding will only be permitted as a last resort in cases of severe injury to the sow’s mammary tissue or to the piglets’ facial tissue;
- We will ban ear notching for identification by 2026;
- We will ban routine tail docking by 2031.We will adopt measures to prevent tail biting and mitigate its consequences, such as providing environmental enrichment and reducing stocking density in pens from the nursery stage onward. As a last resort, tail docking will only be performed on the final third of the tail and with the use of anesthesia and analgesia;
- We will ban the use of antimicrobials for non-therapeutic purposes (such as prophylaxis, metaphylaxis, or growth promotion) by 2031.
- This commitment applies to all of our own, integrated, and third-party supplier operations in Brazil, taking into account the provisions applicable to new facilities and expansions. We will publicly report the percentage of progress made toward each guideline on an annual basis.