Late last week Popeyes became the latest company to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment, a set of standards that will meaningfully improve chicken welfare in its supply chain. By signing on to this commitment—to be implemented no later than 2024—Popeyes joins more than 200 brands, including Subway, Starbucks, and Papa John’s.

Improvements include the following:

• Transitioning to breeds determined to have better welfare outcomes
• Providing more space for chickens by reducing maximum stocking density per Global Animal Partnership (GAP) standards
• Enhancing chickens’ living environments per GAP standards, including higher litter quality, improved lighting, and enrichment
• Using a multistep controlled-atmosphere stunning system to eliminate throat-slitting of fully conscious birds

“Every year billions of chickens suffer in our food system,” said Leah Garcés, president of Mercy For Animals. “We commend Popeyes for taking a significant step toward reducing this suffering with their new policy. It also makes clear that if the king of the chicken sandwich can commit to treating chickens better, there’s no excuse for any of their competitors, such as McDonald’s, KFC, and Chick-Fil-A, not to follow suit.”

Since 2016, Mercy For Animals has been part of a coalition effort to reduce the suffering of chickens used for meat. In 2017, Mercy For Animals worked with Restaurant Brands International (RBI), the parent company of Popeyes, to release a groundbreaking commitment to chicken welfare standards by Burger King and Tim Hortons, which are also owned by RBI.