Animal welfare

Our approach

Almarai is dedicated to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all animals within its care, as this impacts not only the animal’s quality of life, but also the quality and safety of the food we produce. Our animal welfare policy sets clear expectations, encompassing a range of good farming practices in adherence to international standards, including the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines and the Five Freedoms Principle. We enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy against any form of animal abuse, mistreatment, neglect or negligence within our supply chain. Our policy ensures that animals are provided with a life free from hunger, fear, discomfort and pain, and are able to engage in natural behaviors. A high-quality, hormone-free diet is also key aspect of our commitment to the healthful growth and wellbeing of our animals. Furthermore, we require all employees to be proficient in humane handling and fully aware of their responsibilities towards animal welfare, in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. The policy is rigorously enforced at every level of the company's live animal supply chain to ensure the highest standards of care.

What We Do:

To achieve our animal welfare goals, we have implemented the following measures:

• Biosecurity Procedures: We safeguard our livestock and poultry flocks, which are strategically located across multiple sites; to ensure the health and safety of our herds, we complement our disease control and vaccination programs with thorough screening and quarantine measures for all incoming herds.
• Responsible Sourcing of Poultry Feed: We monitor feeding quantities and nutritional content to ensure the highest quality feed for our poultry.
• Advanced Housing for Broilers: Our broilers are equipped with advanced air filtration systems and housed in cage-free, climate-controlled barns to promote their wellbeing.
• Proactive Vaccination: We prioritize the proactive vaccination of cows and chickens, avoiding reliance on therapeutic antimicrobial substitutes.
• Treatment Protocols: Animals in need of treatment are temporarily removed from production until they fully recover, and we do not use any antimicrobials in the treatment of broiler chickens and adhere to proven best practices and evidence-based treatment protocols.
• Training Programs: Recognizing that human interaction plays a significant role in animal welfare, we provide training across all activities on farm, first aid, equipment usage and emergency planning for higher-risk activities with animals to ensure that all staff are aware and can mitigate risk.