Activist investor Icahn loses proxy fight with McDonald’s over animal welfare

• Icahn owns around 200 McD shares, a tiny stake that didn’t give him much leverage

• Proxy fight centered on fast-food giant failing to abolish gestation crates for pigs

Activist investor Carl Icahn lost his proxy fight with McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) on Thursday, indicating that the burger chain shareholders weren’t influenced by his animal-welfare concerns.

Preliminary vote counts during the company’s annual shareholder meeting showed that Icahn’s board nominees only received votes from about 1% of outstanding shares, McDonald’s said.