A&W Canada supports animal welfare

Vancouver – One of Canada’s original burger chains has announced it will be supporting the health and welfare of broiler chickens.

A&W Canada says in a statement that “it is providing $45,000 in funding to the University of Saskatchewan’s Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner to expand the data collection on the impacts of energy efficient LED lighting on broiler chicken welfare and production this fall.”

The research project, says the statement, will look at how LED lights affect poultry behaviour, welfare and health outcomes. Most broiler chicken facilities have phased out incandescent lighting, but experts don’t know how LED lighting will affect the animals.

Researchers will measure “the impact of the various wavelengths of barn lighting” to see how it affects “poultry mobility, behaviour and physiological welfare.”

Mary Buhr, dean of the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, says in the statement that research at the university is “always looking for ways to improve food quality and production, while maintaining high animal care and welfare standards.”

Buhr goes onto explain that partnerships such as the one with A&W allow researchers “to find the sustainable caring solutions we need to feed a growing world.”