Burger King shifts animal policy

NEW YORK --In what animal welfare advocates are describing as a "historic advance," Burger King, the world's second-largest hamburger chain, said yesterday that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that do not confine their animals in cages and crates.

The company said that it would also favor suppliers of chickens that use gas, or "controlled-atmospheric stunning," rather than electric shocks to knock birds unconscious before slaughter.

The goal for the next few months, Burger King said, is for 2 percent of its eggs to be "cage free," and for 10 percent of its pork to come from farms that allow sows to move around pens, rather than being confined to crates. The company said those percentages would rise as more farmers shift methods and more competitively priced supplies become available.

While Burger King's initial goals may be modest, food marketers and animal welfare advocates said yesterday the shift would pressure other restaurant and food companies to adopt similar practices.

Last week, the celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck said he would use meat and eggs only from animals raised under strict animal welfare codes.