Mercy For Animals released the inaugural Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard, the first report ranking Canada’s major food companies on their animal welfare practices. The report scores 40 well-known retailers, restaurants, and other companies on their animal welfare commitments and progress toward implementation and ranks them into seven performance tiers.

Companies in the 2021 scorecard include Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Walmart, Nestlé, Tim Hortons, and A&W. Whole Foods and Chipotle are among the top performers, while Costco and Sysco rank in the lowest tiers.

“With the recent development of ag-gag laws in Canada, which punish whistle-blowers shining a light on egregious animal abuse, Canadian consumers deserve to know which companies are keeping their promises to the public and which ones are not,” said PJ Nyman, corporate relations specialist at Mercy For Animals.

Millions of animals in Canada are raised at industrial farms that have sparked public concern about farm animal welfare. Campaigners are focusing on the use of cages in pig and poultry farming, as well as the use of fast-growing poultry breeds. Many corporations have made promises to the public to ban these farming practices, and while some are making progress, others have failed to take action or lack transparency in following through on their promises.

This scorecard will be published annually and serves to keep Canadians informed about how companies rank on animal welfare. All companies are urged to report progress toward their commitments and to ensure they have meaningful, time-bound policies to reduce suffering for animals in their supply chains.