McDonald’s in fight with billionaire investor over ‘cruel’ pig cages

Carl Icahn bids to end use of ‘gestational cages’, which hold sows before and after they give birth, but fast-food giant says the commitment would be ‘impossible’

McDonald’s has not yet fulfilled a promise it made a decade ago to stop buying pork from suppliers that use cages to hold pregnant sows (Getty Images)

McDonald’s is facing a battle with billionaire shareholder Carl Icahn over its “cruel” treatment of pregnant pigs.

The fast food giant has not yet fulfilled a promise it made a decade ago to phase out buying pork from suppliers that use so-called gestational cages to hold pregnant sows.

Animal rights campaigners have described the practice as obscene and Mr Icahn has now stepped up his battle with McDonald’s over the issue. He has called for two new people to be elected to McDonald’s board.

Mr Icahn has not previously been widely known for activism on animal welfare. He rose to fame on Wall Street as one of the 1980s’ most prominent “corporate raiders”, launching hostile takeovers of underperforming companies before selling off their assets for profit.

He told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month that he had been inspired by his daughter, who has worked for the Humane Society.

McDonald’s questioned Mr Icahn’s motives in a lengthy statement on Sunday, pointing out that he owns just 200 McDonald’s shares.

Mr Icahn is also a majority shareholder Viskase, a company that provides packaging for the pork industry. McDonald’s noted that Mr Icahn has “not publicly called” on Viskase to make similar commitments.

McDonald’s said Mr Icahn’s nomination of two new board members related to “a narrow issue regarding the company’s pork commitment”, which the Humane Society US has already introduced through a shareholder proposal.

It added that it expects 85 to 90 per cent of its pork to come from suppliers that have moved to group housing systems and do not put animals in gestational cages.

“While the company looks forward to promoting further collaboration across the industry on this issue, the current pork supply in the US would make this type of commitment impossible,” McDonald’s said.

“Furthermore, it reflects a departure from the veterinary science used for large-scale production throughout the industry, and would harm the Company’s shared pursuit of providing customers with high quality products at accessible prices.”