SPCA welcomes Nando’s to the SPCA Certified® programme

By sourcing free-range chicken from SPCA Certified farms, Nando’s is helping to drive demand for higher welfare animal products and ensures that more animals are being cared for to a higher standard than required as minimum by law.

The more brands that join the SPCA Certified programme, the easier it is for consumers who choose to eat meat, dairy and eggs to find food products that come from farms that share their values. We can all help improve animal welfare by purchasing products that have the SPCA Certified blue badge in supermarkets or when dining out.

SPCA Certified's sole purpose is to improve animal welfare for New Zealand's animals. The programme is independent from the farming industry, meaning there are no external pressures when developing the programme’s high standards. All SPCA Certified farms are regularly independently audited, both on an announced and unannounced basis, to ensure that standards are being met and maintained.

SPCA Certified standards are based on ‘The Five Domains of Animal Welfare’ model. This means that they go beyond meeting minimum legal standards and basic animal needs. The standards focus on what farmed animals want and provides opportunities for them to display natural behaviours, be curious and playful, and have positive mental welfare.

The standards that SPCA Certified farms achieve include:

• The use of platforms for chickens to roost and perch on, to encourage birds to be active and maintain good leg health. 

• The inclusion of environmental enrichment (pecking items) that encourages exploration and makes their environment more interesting. 

• Ensuring the litter in the sheds is of good quality, and dry and friable to encourage chickens to forage, scratch and dust bathe, keeping their feathers in good condition and their feet healthy. 

• Ensuring good living conditions in the sheds, including standards for air quality, lighting, and stocking densities, as even free-range chickens like to spend a good amount of time indoors.

By choosing products with the SPCA Certified blue badge, consumers encourage producers to improve animal welfare practices in the food industry, and show support for those businesses and brands – in turn leading to more animals being cared for with higher welfare standards.

We’re excited to have Nando’s as part of the SPCA Certified programme, championing better standards of care by sourcing free-range chicken from SPCA Certified farms for their restaurants.

Congratulations, Nando’s, for supporting the drive for higher animal welfare for farmed animals.