Smithfield Food Animal Welfare Management System

Smithfield Foods — Raising the Bar in Animal Welfare

When it comes to animal welfare policies and processes, count on us to lead the way. In fact, we’re recognized by the world’s foremost experts in animal well-being as setting the standard for America’s pork industry—and we’re applying those same best practices to our global operations.

Comprehensive Animal Management

Murphy-Brown, our livestock production subsidiary, has developed the industry’s most comprehensive animal welfare management program to ensure our animals receive proper care.

The Animal Welfare Management System (AWMS) was closely developed with two of the world’s foremost experts in animal behavior and animal handling. Experts from a variety of disciplines—veterinary medicine, reproductive physiology, production management, marketing, management system administration, legal, logistics, and public affairs—participated in an animal welfare committee to make sure animal well-being practices would be evaluated from many different perspectives.

After the AWMS was implemented, adherence to its objectives and requirements was audited by the USDA Process Verified program and continues to be verified through random third-party audits as part of the National Pork Board’s Pork Quality Assurance program known as PQA Plus™. Today, our program serves as a model for other companies in the industry and, most importantly, assures our animals are safe, comfortable and healthy.

Landmark Gestation Stall Policy

Beginning in 2007 and continuing over the next 10 years, our hog production subsidiary Murphy-Brown will move to using group pens for housing pregnant sows. The process will phase out individual gestation stalls on all company-owned sow farms in favor of group housing. We are also working with our contract growers regarding system conversion.

Smithfield Foods based its decision on initial results from its own three-year study into sow housing to determine the impact such a switch would have on sows. Preliminary results showed that group housing arrangements work as well as gestation stalls in providing sows with proper care during their pregnancies. This landmark decision further evidences our commitment to industry leadership.
Read what The Washington Post and The New York Times had to say about our landmark gestation stall announcement.

* Washington Post: Largest Pork Processor to Phase Out Crates
* New York Times: Pork Producer Says It Plans to Give Pigs More Room

Smithfield Foods, Inc. Animal Welfare Policy

Smithfield Foods, Inc. is committed to being the industry leader in animal welfare practices to assure respectful and humane treatment of animals that we own or process, to produce wholesome food products for our customers and to analyze our operations and practices, including internal and independent third party audits, to ensure continual improvement.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and all its subsidiaries involved with the production or processing of live animals are required to provide:

* Comprehensive written animal welfare programs to ensure animal well-being.
* Shelter that is designed, maintained and operated to provide a physical environment that meets the animals’ needs.
* Access to adequate water and high-quality feed to meet animal nutrition requirements (production facilities) and in accordance with the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act 1978 (processing facilities).
* Humane treatment of animals that ensures their well-being and complies with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
* Identification and appropriate treatment of animals in need of care.
* Humane treatment of animals which meets or exceeds the requirements of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1978, and all applicable American Meat Institute Animal Handling Guidelines (processing facilities).
* Timely use of humane methods to euthanize sick or injured animals not responding to care and treatment.

Adherence to the principles of this policy is a responsibility and requirement of those that interact with animals that are owned or processed by Smithfield Foods’ subsidiaries. Willful neglect or abuse of animals will not be tolerated and will result in immediate termination. Offenders may also be subject to criminal prosecution under applicable laws.

Murphy-Brown, LLC Antibiotic Usage Policy

Compliance with applicable laws, regulations and other requirements to which Murphy-Brown subscribes is the responsibility of every Murphy-Brown associate. The antibiotic usage policy refers to all employees responsible for dispensing, delivering and administering antibiotics.

Murphy-Brown’s antibiotic usage policy calls for the following:

* The responsible use of therapeutic antibiotics for the specific purpose of treating animals with disease or illness.
* The responsible use of preventative antibiotics to help prevent the spread or onset of a disease or illness with proper diagnostic confirmation.
* Adherence to all applicable laws including the Food and Drug Administration’s Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act regarding any extra-label drug use.
* No routine administration of antibiotics used in human medicine to healthy animals. For purposes of this policy, “routine” means consistent use of an antibiotic in the context of an individual animal over its entire life.
* Strict or extended adherence to all antibiotic withdrawal timelines established by the FDA and the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank.
* No consistent use of feed-grade antimicrobials of human health significance over the life of a healthy animal. Use of particular antimicrobials as additives in feeds will be reviewed at least quarterly by a veterinarian and will be adjusted as appropriate, depending on disease prevention and control needs.
* Antibiotics used and antibiotic administration practices to be approved by licensed professional veterinarians.

Adherence to the principles of this policy is a responsibility and requirement of those who interact with the animals owned or managed by Murphy-Brown. Improper acquisition or usage of antibiotics will result in a minimum of a final written warning. Willful neglect or abuse of animals will not be tolerated and will result in immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination or prosecution.

Accident Response Plan Received Acknowledgment from Expert

Although they occur infrequently, accidents involving animals during transport can and do happen. We have developed an industry-leading accident response program.

Jennifer Woods, an Alberta, Canada-based livestock handling expert, analyzed our accident response plan through Murphy-Brown, our livestock production company, and praised it as “the standard for the industry in live-haul emergency response.”

In 2006, we revamped the way we respond to traffic accidents with animals present. Our accident response plan now instructs rescue workers to humanely euthanize severely injured animals as soon as the workers come across them. Our protocol also puts more emphasis on securing the area to control accident scenes and advises the proper way to safely open a tipped trailer.

“No other company in the world is as prepared to respond to motor vehicle accidents involving livestock as [Murphy-Brown is],” Woods said.

Responsibility — Animal Welfare Recognition

“Smithfield Foods and its Murphy-Brown production division are to be commended for their continuing commitment to ensuring animal welfare at its farms and abattoirs that is as high as is currently possible. Those efforts are pursuant to Murphy-Brown’s comprehensive Animal Welfare Management System…[a]n important reason this program has achieved such a successful record is that the company’s executive officers and division managers have been ever mindful of the importance of assuring its customers that the foods it produces, processes, and purveys come from socially responsible farms, and they have done whatever necessary to earn that distinction…”

Stanley E. Curtis, Ph. D.
Department of Animal Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana

“Since 2001 when Murphy-Brown first joined the Animal Agriculture Alliance, the company has impressed me as a true leader in developing solutions to challenges, great and small. The company’s proactive initiative developing its animal welfare management program, which includes care both on-farm and during transportation, as well as its commitment to training its employees and growers on proper care and handling, sets the standard for the agricultural industry. Murphy-Brown doesn’t just talk about solutions. It makes them happen.”

Kay Johnson Smith
Executive Vice President
Animal Agriculture Alliance