About Us Our Brands Sustainability Careers Investors Contact Us We care deeply about the well-being of our animals. HOME SUSTAINABILITY Animal Care Our Animal Welfare Practices and Policies At Smithfield, our people care about the welfare and human treatment of our animals, and diligently make the connection between food safety and animal care. Through every stage of our animals' lives we provide disease prevention, regular veterinary care, biosecurity and safe, comfortable housing. Download our sustainability report View our case studies View our corporate news Animal Care Highlights and Achievements Smithfield’s animal care practices underline our steadfast commitment to the safety, health and comfort of our animals. Our employees are caregivers who prioritize the respectful and humane treatment of animals every day across all segments of our supply chain. In a year of immeasurable challenges, their dedication never wavered. We enhanced our world-class animal care practices in 2020, reemphasizing our certification and audit requirements on our farms and at our processing facilities and committing to new forward-looking targets by 2025 and beyond. LEGACY MANAGEMENT APPROACH We continued to enhance our legacy management approach to animal care. At the same time, we understand the importance of the Five Freedoms of animal welfare. PROCESS VERIFIED PROGRAM (PVP) We extended our Process Verified Program (PVP) certification, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that helps ensure animals coming to our facilities have been raised where management systems address the welfare of animals, to all our U.S. suppliers. EXCELLENCE IN ANIMAL CARE We continued to achieve excellence in animal care, reaching each of our 2020 targets and introducing new targets, including a commitment to implement barn-enrichment initiatives on company-owned farms by 2030. Our Goals And Targets 2020 PERFORMANCE FUTURE TARGETS Our Animal Care Goal: Keep animals safe, comfortable and healthy. Maintain a written program for animal welfare at facilities globally. Achieved 100% Report antibiotic usage on a global basis. Achieved since 2007 Maintain a systematic program for animal care based on the NAMI’s Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide at each applicable facility in the United States. Achieved 100% Maintain USDA PVP certification for locations in the United States. Achieved 100% Ensure all live animal suppliers in the United States are certified to the NPB’s PQA® Plus. Achieved 100% Ensure all live animal transporters in the United States are certified to NPB’s TQA®. Achieved 100% Maintain and implement updates to the company’s Animal Care Management System and achieve an annual audit score of excellent (97%–100%) at each farm region globally. Achieved Company-owned farms with an average Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) score of 99% Maintain group housing for all pregnant sows on company-owned farms globally and encourage U.S. contract growers to convert to group housing systems for pregnant sows by 2022; provide pigs and poultry, including laying hens, with housing, floor and surface area required by the EU. On Track 100% company-owned farms globally; increased conversion of U.S. contract grower farms; 100% poultry farms and hatcheries in Poland aligned with EU animal welfare requirements We take pride in keeping our animals safe, comfortable and healthy." - Mary Battrell, Veterinarian Our Guiding Principles for Animal Welfare Smithfield takes pride in the responsible stewardship of our animals. Animal well-being is a top company priority and deeply engrained in our commitment to producing food responsibly. As part of that commitment, we recognize the importance of the UK Animal Welfare Committee’s (AWC’s) “Five Freedoms,” which outline ideal physical and mental states to promote animal well-being: freedom from hunger and thirst; from discomfort; from pain, injury or disease; from fear and distress; and to express normal behavior. Our company remains committed to continuous improvement in these areas and urges every member of our Smithfield Family and farmers in our supply chain to uphold these values. Every employee is responsible for ensuring Smithfield’s animal care standards and comprehensive Animal Care Policy are upheld. In addition to our Animal Care Policy, our support of the Five Freedoms is underpinned by our wide-ranging management systems, policies, practices and culture of accountability. Every employee is responsible for ensuring Smithfield's world-class animal care standards and comprehensive Animal Care Policy are upheld. ANIMAL CARE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Our Animal Care Management System provides a comprehensive approach to animal welfare across our supply chain and throughout the animals’ lives. It specifies requirements for employee training, compliance checks and audits on our company-owned farms, at the family farms we contract with, during transport and in our processing facilities, and it ensures that any issues of noncompliance are swiftly corrected. We regularly review and enhance our approach to align with scientific research, technological innovation and opportunities for operational efficiencies Our Commitment to Animal Welfare Animal Nutrition Antibiotics Use Animal Well-Being Animal Care Management Animal Genetics Animal Housing Antibiotics Biosecurity Humane Euthanasia and Slaughter Industry Definitions Ractopamine Animal Care Spotlights Our employees prioritize the respectful and human treatment of animals as can be showcased in our spotlights. 1 OF 4 ANIMAL CARE ANIMAL HOUSING Pigs are social beings. They like to be around other pigs and their caretakers. Read the case study View all case studies Our 2020 Sustainability Report outlines our efforts to make a lasting impact in our process and policies. It is a wide-reaching view of how we want to hold ourselves to the highest standards. 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