Since November 2023, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Frente Animal (formerly Abrir de Asas) has taken the initiative to contact several companies, including Jerónimo Martins (Pingo Doce).
December 23, 2024 – In response to the press release published by Jerónimo Martins (Pingo Doce), on the day of the launch of the Animal Front’s campaign, called #FimdoDoce and which aims to expose images of animal abuse in the chain of chicken meat suppliers to the company’s stores, this press release serves to clarify some of the issues raised.
The conversations held served to present the company with the solutions provided for in the European Chicken Commitment, which promote the reduction of animal suffering and public health, since this is a commitment that has been implemented in other companies across Europe and whose charter criteria are the most in line with the studies of animal welfare experts in these production contexts.
After receiving images from an anonymous source, taken in Portugal, of Pingo Doce’s chicken suppliers, we approached Jerónimo Martins again to expose real situations that contradict their principles and objectives of promoting animal welfare, and again presented the solutions, with a view to reaching an agreement. The alternative would be to expose these images to the public, as we believe it is the consumer’s right to have access to this information. We fully believe that customers want to know what they are buying.
The company continues to focus on knowing the specific locations of the poultry houses where these images were taken, and not on solving the problem of production as a whole. You accuse us of a lack of transparency, and so we set out below our reasons for insisting that Jerónimo Martins be held accountable:
These situations of mistreatment are inherent to the entire intensive chicken production industry, and have to do with the breed used in production, the density of the sheds and the lack of conditions for these animals to fulfill their basic behaviors and needs, such as being able to rest on perches or scrape the ground, for example, which are typical and natural behaviors for these birds and are defined in the 5 basic freedoms of animal welfare that the company itself mentions on its website.
These images were taken in different poultry houses, from different supply companies and from the north to the south of the country, which means they are proof that these are not isolated cases, but recurrent in this type of production.
When specific producers are mentioned, a common response from food retailers is to terminate the contract they have with the producer, blaming them and refraining from intervening to remedy the problems. However, switching from one supplier to another won’t solve the problem, as we explained above.
Finally, we would like to stress that as a non-governmental and non-profit organization, our mission is not to defame companies, but to defend the interests of the animals that are exploited on a daily basis and to ask for transparency about the production methods to which they are subjected.
It is not Frente Animal’s intention to harm the workers who make their living in these poultry farms, only to propose viable solutions to promote the interests of these animals, and of consumers.
We believe that a food retail company of this size could set a good example by using its ample financial resources to take these first steps, rather than using them in a legal action against a small NGO whose sole mission is to inform consumers and promote transparency in the livestock industry.
Naturally, we are therefore available to talk to Jerónimo Martins, as well as to stop this information campaign immediately, if it is possible to reach an agreement on measures to be implemented with the chain’s suppliers.
Nuno Alvim, campaigns manager
Joana Machado, corporate action manager
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