Cargill has invested CAD 22 million ($17.2 million) in its poultry processing plant in Ontario, Canada to install a new Controlled Atmospheric Stunning (CAD) system at the facility.

The CAD technology will replace the electric stunning system which is currently in operation at the facility, and the new system will become operational this spring.

Cargill says that it has approved the new system in response to increased consumer demand for more humane practices during the poultry processing process.

Claudecir Pagnussatto, plant general manager at the facility said: “As we grow our business to meet consumer and customer demand for wholesome, nutritious, affordable animal protein, we continuously explore enhancements that position us as an industry leader in both animal welfare and protein production.

“Our new CAS system will help reduce handling stress with chickens, resulting in a higher-quality, more consistent product.”

Dr Stephanie Cottee, Cargill’s global head of poultry welfare added: “Cargill is committed to ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare are maintained and believes all food animals deserve respect and dignity prior to harvesting. We have led the way in many areas of animal welfare,”

“We were the first to install third-party remote video auditing at our harvest plants to ensure our animal welfare program is properly implemented.

“For the past two years, we have been named to the second highest international company ranking tier by the UK-based Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare. We are dedicated to animal welfare because it’s the right thing to do.”