With Carl Icahn teaming up with the Humane Society of the United States, McDonald’s Corp. is now facing the most high-profile attack on its animal-welfare policies to date.Over the weekend, the activist investor proposed two new board members for McDonald’s, escalating his demands that the company force its pork suppliers to stop keeping sows in individual pens so small they can’t lie down or turn around. The burger chain’s board responded that it expects that, by the end of the year, 85% to 90% of its U.S. pork will come from “sows not housed in gestation crates during pregnancy.”While that’s progress from when McDonald’s announced a move away from crated sows in May 2012, a caveat earlier in the statement specifies that the policy applies to “confirmed pregnant sows,” leaving some wiggle room for the chain and its suppliers. The animal-welfare statement on its website also says McDonald’s is guided by an industry standard that moves sows into so-called group housing after they’re confirmed as pregnant. What’s not explicit is that sows can be crated from the time of their insemination until the pregnancies are confirmed, or about five weeks of their 16-week gestation period.
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