U.S. Animal Welfare Policy

Beef

We believe in the welfare of the cattle raised for our supply chain and we require that our suppliers adhere to the highest animal handling and care standards.

At Shake Shack, we stand for: 

  • Humane treatment of cattle throughout their life
  • No antibiotics
  • No added hormones
  • No animal by-products or sub-therapeutic antibiotics in feed

Pork

We believe in the welfare of the pigs raised for our bacon and sausages and we require that our suppliers adhere to the highest animal handling and care standards.

At Shake Shack, we stand for: 

  • Humane treatment of pigs—including access to the outdoors (if possible) and warmth and security if raised indoors
  • No antibiotics
  • No animal by-products in feed
  • No routine needle teeth clipping or grinding

The pigs raised for our supply chain are provided adequate feed, water and are raised outdoors (or in open pen settings) with the freedom to turn around and move about freely.

Chicken 

We believe in the welfare of the chickens raised for our supply chain and we require that our suppliers adhere to the highest animal handling and care standards.

At Shake Shack, we stand for: 

  • Humane treatment of chickens, requiring a cage-free and enriched environment that allows the chickens to turn around and flap their wings
  • No antibiotics
  • No animal by-products in the chicken feed 

We support the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which we adopted in 2016. And as an active Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) working group member, we continue to explore ways to improve the lives of the chickens we source. 

In 2022, we continued our progress towards the BCC targets in the following areas: 

  • Litter: 100% of our purchases meet the standard for litter
  • Lighting: 100% of our purchases meet the standard for the duration of light and dark hours; currently darkness lux target is not met
  • Enrichments: 100% of our purchases meet the standard for enrichment
  • Stocking Density: Our stocking density is no more than 7 pounds per sq/ft, which is better than the industry standards, but above the 6 pounds per sq/ft target
  • Controlled Atmosphere Stunning:  Not met
  • Slow Growth Breed: Not met

We acknowledge that there remains room for improvement in our chicken sourcing practices and continue striving towards the BCC targets to ensure that we source chickens humanely and respectfully. We pledge to report our progress annually.

Cage-Free Eggs

 We believe in the welfare of the hens raised for the eggs in our supply chain and require our suppliers to source 100% cage-free eggs across our US supply chains.

At Shake Shack, we stand for: 

  • Raising hens in an open environment where they can feel comfortable and display their natural behaviors such as perching, dustbathing, jumping, and flying
  • Providing hens the space to walk, spread their wings, and freely lay their eggs 

As a company with locations all around the world, we are striving to advance the sourcing in our global supply chain to include 100% cage-free eggs as well, while maintaining the quality and standards we are known for.

Dairy

Shake Shack stands by the National Milk Producers Federation’s standard of not tail-docking dairy cows. We also encourage our suppliers to use selective breeding of dairy cows to eliminate the need for dehorning. Additionally, we prohibit rBST/rBGH in our fluid dairy supply.

 

We Hear You

We care deeply about the issues that are important to our guests, so we want to hear from you! If we can ever do anything better, let us know at [email protected].

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