On July 20, 2001, PETA responded, with disappointment

July 20, 2000

Jack Schuessler, CEO
Wendy's International, Inc.

Dear Mr. Schuessler:

Thank you for alerting PETA to your "Animal Welfare Program Fact Sheet." While we are cautiously optimistic that it will eventually lead to improvements for the cows, pigs, and chickens who are served up as food in Wendy's restaurants, we have an array of very serious concerns that make it impossible for PETA to call off our anti-Wendy's campaign.

To summarize, Wendy's "Fact Sheet" seems to be nothing more than a public relations document and suffers miserably by comparison to the announcements of real changes released by McDonald's and Burger King, Wendy's main competitors.

Speaking generally, we have five concerns about the sheet: First and foremost, if Wendy's was actually, as is implied in the section "Animal Welfare and Handling Audits," auditing all cow, pig, and chicken slaughterhouses and farms at least twice per year with an "objective animal welfare auditing program" on par with Burger King's and McDonald's standards, PETA would immediately halt our campaign. Indeed, even now, if Dr. Grandin, the industry representative we trust, tells us that you're really doing this (you weren't, as of a week ago), we will call off our campaign. Despite Wendy's claim of "inspections [that] include a review of housing, transportation, holding facilities, and humane slaughter procedures," Dr. Grandin, the sole animal welfare expert Wendy's employs, knows nothing about anything that Wendy's has done, ever, with regard to farms, transportation, or chicken slaughterhouses. Something is rotten in the state of Wendy's.

Wendy's also claims: "Most importantly, companies that fail to meet our strict guidelines are terminated …" Again, Dr. Grandin does not know of a single example of a chicken slaughterhouse or farm of any sort where Wendy's has even raised such an issue, let alone actually ceased buying on such a basis. It is consumer fraud for Wendy's to misrepresent its record on animal welfare to its customers to this degree.

With regard to Wendy's "Animal Welfare Council," you have apparently kept it secret from Dr. Grandin. Whereas McDonald's and Burger King have convened, and Tricon is convening, animal welfare councils consisting of animal welfare experts, Wendy's, now falsely claiming to be an "industry leader" on animal welfare, apparently is comfortable with padding a committee with your own employees exclusively. Nothing qualifies these people to review Wendy's policies "and the performance of [your] suppliers to ensure full compliance."

The statement that "The Animal Welfare Program for cattle, poultry, and swine sets Wendy's apart from the competition as an industry leader" is absurd. Even if Wendy's were doing the things you claim, Wendy's would still fall behind both McDonald's and Burger King, Wendy's key competitors, in this regard.

With regard to the pull quotes: The quote from Dr. Grandin is misleading, as she is only addressing cow and pig slaughterhouses in this quote; the quote from the National Chicken Council (NCC) is cause for concern, since the NCC has not, thus far, ever required anything of its members with regard to animal welfare.

As to specific issues of animal welfare, here are some of the most pressing concerns:

• Wendy's "Fact Sheet" does not address, at all, the issue of chicken slaughter. Wendy's must require better slaughter conditions for chickens, who are hung upside down by their weakened legs in metal shackles before their heads are passed through an electrically charged water bath that often does not render them insensible to pain. When these baths are set below 120mAmps, as they often are, chickens (unless they have died from stress and abuse before they're even shackled) are generally still alive, conscious, and bleeding to death after their throats are slit. They enter the scalding tank (boiling water for feather removal) still conscious. Many of them flap about and thus miss both the immobilization bath and the automated neck-slicer and are scalded to death.


• Wendy's "Fact Sheet" does not address, at all, the issue of stalls for breeding pigs, who are confined to tiny concrete stalls, unable to turn around, for most of their lives. Pigs raised for your meals can never in their lives lie in a comfortable position or put their heads down to nuzzle their babies. Many of these intelligent, sensitive animals (pigs are at least as intelligent as dogs or cats) go mad from the boredom and stress. In fact, as many as one in five die on some breeding farms.


• Wendy's "Fact Sheet" does not adequately address any plans to alleviate or reduce the misery of laying hens. Whereas Burger King is requiring that all hens be able to stand upright, Wendy's is silent on this issue. Whereas Burger King and McDonald's address the issue of searing the beaks off chicks, Wendy's ignores this issue. And while McDonald's has already implemented these changes and Burger King is requiring the elimination of forced molting and the implementation of housing space requirements by March 2002, Wendy's "goal" and "target dates" are in the distant future, not even starting for more than a year! A real leader on animal welfare implements requirements, rather than talking about targets and goals.


• The fact that an incentive program for proper chicken handling "is strongly recommended" is meaningless. We need a requirement from you, not a suggestion. McDonald's has implemented such a program. Wendy's must do the same, or nothing will change. Unless Wendy's requires changes, its suppliers couldn't care less what it "recommends."


• McDonald's and Burger King have pledged, with the help of animal welfare panels that include committed animal welfare advocates, to continue to make improvements in all areas of the lives of the cows, pigs, and chickens raised for their restaurants. In addition to the many other abuses inflicted on farmed animals, Burger King has promised to address air quality issues, emergency procedures for failures of automated equipment, on-farm euthanasia methods, branding of cattle (which inflicts third degree burns and often happens three or four times in an animal's life), and mutilation of animals (e.g., wattling, dehorning, castration). Wendy's is not addressing these issues at all and has not hired any actual animal welfare experts to do so.


• Wendy's "Fact Sheet" does not address, at all, what happens to animals raised in Canada and other countries where Wendy's operates. Even if Wendy's were to do everything it claims, there is no indication that it would do anything outside the United States.


• Wendy's regulations for transport and holding of animals would all be noteworthy, if only we could take Wendy's seriously. But there is no indication whatsoever that any of these regulations will be enforced. Certainly, the regulations are far from "comprehensive," regardless of whether or not they are implemented. For all the reasons enumerated above, forgive us for not believing that they will be.


• Finally, Wendy's regulations for cow and pig holding and slaughter, which we know Wendy's is actually implementing and enforcing, are laudable, and that is why PETA would prefer to leave Wendy's in peace. But until you address, truly address, welfare for farmed animals and chickens in slaughterhouses instead of making bold pronouncements that seem to have no meaning, our campaign must continue and intensify.

In closing, let me assure you, as I assured Mr. Lynch by e-mail yesterday, that PETA is always willing to work with anyone (or any corporation) serious about improving animal welfare and that we're always ready to expose anyone (or any corporation) more interested in public relations than in alleviating animal suffering. Sadly, your "Fact Sheet" places Wendy's in the latter category. Because Dr. Grandin is pleased with what Wendy's is doing with regard to cow and pig slaughter, PETA very much wishes to give Wendy's the benefit of the doubt. But you are making it impossible for us to do so.

Please let us know when you are really ready to address the issues outlined above, yet again. We're not asking for anything overnight, and all we're asking is that Wendy's do as much as its chief competitors. When Wendy's addresses the issues addressed by McDonald's and Burger King, PETA will call off our campaign. But not before.

Sincerely,

Bruce G. Friedrich
PETA

cc: Dr. Steven Gross
Dr. Temple Grandin
Kathie Chesnut
Denny Lynch