III. Turkish-German University Animal Welfare Awards

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Leading brands of animal welfare receive their awards

At the Animal Welfare Awards Ceremony organized by the Turkish-German University on December 22, companies that set an example in the field of animal welfare in Turkey were awarded.

Animal welfare is increasingly coming to the fore in the world and in our country as an ethical obligation and a requirement of sustainability. Today, with consumers becoming more sensitive to animal rights, many companies have started to take steps to increase the welfare of animals in their supply chains. The risks posed by raising animals in bad conditions in terms of public health have also pushed companies to raise the standards in their supply chains. In the survey conducted by Konda Research and Consultancy throughout Turkey, it is seen that the majority of the population has a negative opinion about the industrial systems in which animals are tortured.

At this year's award ceremony; Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International, Akkomarka Restaurant Group, Beyaz Fırın, Gourmet Garage, Divan Group, Tat Gıda and Koç Holding received the Good Egg Award. Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International and Akkomarka Restaurant Group switched to a 100% cage-free system in egg supply as of 2021. At the end of a long preparatory work, Beyaz Fırın made an important reform this year by switching to the 100% free-range system, which is an advanced stage of the cage-free system and allows chickens to roam outside the henhouse. Gourmet Garage markets 2023; Divan Group, Tat Gıda and Koç Holding have also taken a big step towards ending the suffering of enormous amounts of animals in the future by committing to make their supply chains 100% cage-free by 2025.

Company representatives who received the awards; Nur Çelik (Divan Group), Şule Bülbülkaya (Tat Gıda), Fulya Çetinbudak, Selim Akan (Koç Holding), Serkan Demirbağ, Ramis Akyüz (Beyaz Fırın), Seçkin Şimşek (Akkomarka), Uğurcan Kapan (Gourmet Garage), thanked animals confirming their sensitivity to the welfare of the people, stated that they will continue their work.

Attending the ceremony with Serdar Küçükyıldız, Tolga Ünal (Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International) stated in his speech that they are happy to be the first hotel chain to complete this reform in the tourism sector and to have a positive impact on the lives of thousands of animals, and that they wish their work to set an example for other organizations.

Metro Markets, on the other hand, was deemed worthy of three awards this year. Metro Markets received the Good Egg Award for its 100% cage-free commitment to all eggs on its shelves for 2025, where it made great progress this year towards its commitment to its own branded eggs first in 2023; It was awarded the Good Livestock Award for its efforts since 2012 to expand the living spaces of sheep and cattle and to regulate the slaughtering process in accordance with world standards, and finally, the Good Fish Award for its stock density and painless harvest commitments in aquaculture.

Tülay Özel, Metro Turkey Quality and Sustainability Manager; Noting that they have developed a holistic animal welfare program, he underlined that they will always be a pioneer in this field in the future.

At the end of the program, Dr. İzzet Furgaç congratulated all the award-winning companies on behalf of the academic staff of the Turkish-German University and expressed that they will continue to support animal welfare studies and wished for more reforms in this regard.

About Turkish-German University Animal Welfare Awards

Turkish-German University is a state university founded in 2010 based on the agreement signed between the Republic of Turkey and the Federal Republic of Germany. The animal welfare awards event is held under the coordination of the law faculty. With these awards, it is aimed to reduce the suffering of animals on an industrial scale and to raise the quality standards in Turkey to the level abroad. Each of the award-winning companies has either committed to supplying 100% cage-free eggs or has already completed the transformation.