U.S. Animal Welfare Policy

The following outlines our US animal welfare policy. As we continue to grow, we will actively explore avenues to communicate the standards upheld by our global partners regarding their sourcing. As a global company with licensed partners worldwide, we are dedicated to enhancing sourcing practices throughout our supply chain, while also taking into account regional considerations.

Beef

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

At Shake Shack, we stand for:

•       No added hormones, ever

•       No antibiotics, ever

•       No added hormones, ever

•       No animal by-products or sub-therapeutic antibiotics in feed

•       Humane treatment of cattle throughout their life

Pork

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

At Shake Shack, we stand for:

•       No added hormones*

•       No antibiotics, ever

•       No animal by-products in feed

•       No routine needle teeth clipping or grinding

•       Humane treatment of pigs – including access to the outdoors (if possible) and warmth and security if raised indoors

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

Over 75% of our bacon supply comes from producers that strictly prohibit the use of farrowing or gestation crates. However, due to our growth and increased demand, we’ve had to source from additional pig producers who use confinement for a brief period (<7 days) during gestation or farrowing. We are committed to working closely with these producers and any future pork suppliers to minimize and eliminate the duration of time that pigs are confined.

Chicken

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

At Shake Shack, we stand for:

•       No added hormones*

•       No antibiotics, ever

•       No animal by-products in the chicken feed

•       Humane treatment of chickens, requiring a cage-free and enriched environment that allows the chickens to turn around and flap their wings

We support the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which we adopted in 2016. We remain committed to the BCC and being transparent about our progress. In 2023, we continued our progress toward 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 as well as light lux at 50 lux (currently darkness lux is not met)

•        Enrichments: 100% of our purchases meet the standard for enrichment

•        Stocking Density: Our stocking density does not meet the 6 pounds per sq/ft target, but is no more than 7 pounds per sq/ft, which is better than the industry standard

•       Controlled Atmosphere Stunning: 0% met

•       Slow Growth Breed: 0% met

We recognize that there is room for improvement in our chicken sourcing practices and continue to strive to meet the BCC targets to ensure that we source chickens humanely and respectfully. Since we are fully compliant on litter and enrichments, we will work to implement the remaining BCC components of lighting, stocking density, controlled atmosphere stunning, and breed, reporting annually on our progress.

Eggs

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

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

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.

 

Shake Shack reserves the right to adjust our policy and implementation plan based on new research and scientific advancements, as well as market availability, while maintaining our commitment to upholding the highest animal welfare standards.

*Domestic business – federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones or steroids in poultry and pork

 

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].

As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, check out our annual Stand for Something Good Summary.