Denny’s ends 600-day standoff over cages for pregnant pigs

Denny’s has pledged to stop buying from suppliers that cage pigs for their entire pregnancies—a promise it quietly shelved for years.

• After 600 days of pressure from Animal Equality, Denny’s has finally taken action against gestation crates in its supply chain.
• Its new policy follows nationwide protests in over a dozen cities, two billboards in Times Square, and full-page ads targeting the company’s leadership in local newspapers.
• At Denny’s headquarters in South Carolina, advocates attempted to deliver 53,000 messages from concerned consumers. They were turned away by a confrontational staff member as local press covered the story. 
• Months later, the company promised to share regular updates on its progress for mother pigs. 
• IHOP has since followed suit, issuing its own commitment against gestation crates. 

Update September 9, 2024: Denny’s has released a new policy stating it will no longer allow pigs to be caged for their entire pregnancies. The corporation also committed to sharing regular progress updates. Shortly after, IHOP released a similar commitment.

Update July 29, 2024 – Advocates targeted Denny’s CEO with full-page ads in two of her hometown papers, along with ten other digital and print publications. 

Update May 10, 2024 – Animal Equality launched a secondary campaign against Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, a Denny’s-owned chain led by the same CEO. 

Update May 6, 2024 – Reuters reported growing pressure on Denny’s ahead of a shareholder vote on gestation crates. 

Update April 10, 2024 – At a golf tournament in Texas, protesters confronted Denny’s leadership. CEO Kelli Valade stayed in the clubhouse, while other executives declined to engage.

Update January 11, 2024 – Animal Equality launched a campaign against Finn Partners, the public relations firm that signed Denny’s shortly after its animal cruelty scandal broke.

Update December 11, 2023 – At Denny’s headquarters in South Carolina, Animal Equality attempted to deliver thousands of messages from concerned consumers. A confrontational staff member refused the delivery and ordered advocates to leave. Local news outlets covered the event.

Update October 17, 2023 – The son of a Denny’s executive flashed obscene gestures at peaceful demonstrators in Kansas City. 

Update September 21, 2023 – Animal Equality staged its first protest against Dawn Lafreeda—Denny’s largest franchise owner—at the premiere of her new documentary.

Update September 6, 2023 – In New York City, passersby watched video footage of pigs in crates and offered their thoughts on Denny’s inaction.

Update August 26, 2023 – A Times Square billboard urged Denny’s President to address the company’s ties to cruelty.

Update August 11, 2023 – A Times Square billboard featured Denny’s logo and the message: “Animal abuse is bad for business.” 

Update February 26, 2023 – Animal Equality took out a newspaper ad in the San Antonio Express, calling on Denny’s franchise owner Dawn Lafreeda to “do the right thing.” 

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January 23, 2023

More than ten years after vowing to ban cages for pigs in its supply chain, Denny’s is facing nationwide backlash for breaking its promise.

These metal cages—banned in ten U.S. states and several countries—confine mother pigs so tightly they cannot turn around. While many major companies have moved away from this practice, Denny’s has made little progress and refuses to share a timeline.

Animal Equality has led protests across the country, urging the company to keep its promise to animals and consumers.

What are gestation crates?

Millions of U.S. pigs spend their entire pregnancies in 7-by-2-feet cages barely larger than their own bodies. They can’t turn around or take more than a step forward. 

While experts have long warned of the physical and mental suffering, Animal Equality’s investigators have filmed pigs biting the metal bars, throwing their heads in frustration, chewing at the air, and foaming at the mouth. 

…[T]he way I look at it is: How would you like to live in an airline seat?”

-Dr. Temple Grandin, animal behavior expert

A track record of progress

Animal Equality’s campaign is part of a broader effort to end extreme confinement. In 2022, advocates successfully pushed Compass Group—a global foodservice giant—to renew its commitment against gestation crates. 

Delaware North and Conagra, which owns brands like Slim Jim and Swiss Miss, followed soon after.

To learn more about Animal Equality’s ongoing corporate campaigns, visit the Action Center today.

More than confinement: A global pattern of abuse

While gestation crates are among the industry’s most common cruelties, they’re far from the only one. Animal Equality has documented widespread abuse on pig farms around the world.

In Italy, a 2021 investigation with a national media outlet revealed pigs with untreated hernias, open wounds, and large cysts. Dead pigs—some mummified and filled with worms—were left to rot in hallways. 

The farm supplied the Bompieri Group, which markets its meat as the “Excellence of Made in Italy.” When authorities failed to act, Animal Equality returned. Conditions remained the same.

That same year in Spain, investigators found pigs living in their own waste, eating and drinking from troughs contaminated with feces. Some were too weak to stand. Others were left to die slowly.

Advocates say these investigations reveal a deeper problem in factory farming, one Animal Equality continues to uncover globally.

The difference starts with you

Animal cruelty is driven by demand, but it can end with our choices.

Choosing plant-based foods is one of the most effective ways to protect pigs, cows, chickens, and other animals.

Start today with the Love Veg international cookbook, a downloadable collection of recipes made with compassion.