Fans count on DQ® restaurants to deliver wholesome and safe food and treats using sustainable practices, which includes treating animals well. They believe in the humane treatment of animals and expect their suppliers to comply with all applicable animal husbandry laws and industry best practices that define animal welfare policies and management systems. It is important to DQ that fans enjoy and feel good about the food and treats they eat.

Dairy Queen’s suppliers hatch, raise and harvest chickens in the United States, and DQ only source chicken from suppliers that meet the following welfare standards.

Cage-free, climate-controlled barns with controlled lighting and ventilation

24/7 access to food, water and proper nutrition

Healthcare monitored by licensed veterinarians

Proper handling and transportation

Efforts to reduce stress prior to harvest

To be harvested using humane practices

Antibiotics

DQ believes that chickens should be treated humanely, from hatch to harvest, when they are well and when they are ill. While they do not support the routine use of medically important antibiotics, DQ believes sick animals must be treated appropriately to reduce or end suffering and to control a disease outbreak. When antibiotics are administered by a licensed veterinarian for therapeutic purposes only, they contribute to overall animal well-being.

Auditing

All their chicken suppliers conduct regular third-party audits using auditors certified by the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) to ensure they meet animal welfare standards. Should a supplier not meet a required standard, DQ would work with them on an appropriate action plan toward adoption or discontinue working with the supplier.

Cage-free Egg Commitment

Globally, DQ is committed to requiring suppliers of shell and liquid eggs and proprietary ingredients to use cage-free eggs by 2025. They are making great progress.

In the U.S. 76 percent, in Canada 50 percent, and in the rest of the world 60 percent, of shell eggs, liquid eggs, and proprietary DQ ingredients that contain eggs have either converted to cage free or were reformulated to remove egg as an ingredient. They are on track to meet their cage-free egg commitment by the end of 2025.

DQ is committed to continuously learning and reevaluating DQ’s animal welfare policies to ensure animals are treated humanely. DQ and their suppliers work with industry experts to advise and inform our animal welfare standards. As an ethical and principled company, DQ only commit to standards and guidelines that our suppliers and/or the industry can support and that are widely accepted as industry best practice. When DQ make a commitment, they have a plan and confidence that DQ and their suppliers will meet it and that the industry can support it. Anything less is contrary to how they do business.

Photo: Dairy Queen

For more information, visit dairyqueen.com.

Program subject to change. Contact the store directly for more information.