Choose Wisely
Don't make hens pay for your eggs - Choose Wisely
Its fair to say most Australians dont like animal cruelty.
And if you asked them, most Australian shoppers would probably say they
prefer barn-laid or free range eggs, because the conditions for the hens
that lay the eggs are better.
Yet, sales of cage eggs continue to far outweigh sales of more humane
varieties.
Why is this so?
Is it because shoppers dont realise that those innocent looking cage
eggs, with packaging that may even show illustrations of happy hens in
green fields, actually come from intensive battery cage systems?
Perhaps its just because cage eggs are inevitably cheaper that the
kinder alternatives? after all, they are much cheaper and more efficient
to produce, which is why the cage system is so popular with producers.
But before you reach for those bargain cage eggs on the supermarket
shelf, think about who really pays for your purchase.
Start
by imagining a space not much bigger than the computer screen youre looking
at right now smaller in size than an A4 sheet of paper.
Now imagine trying to fit a whole adult chicken inside that space, and
keeping her there for her entire life. Dont worry, you wont need to make
room for a perch or nest a hen in a battery cage wouldnt have these
either.
Then, imagine that same hen is in a wire cage with four other hens, and
surrounded by hundreds, thousands, millions of other hens just like her.
Thats how many hens are living in this situation in Australia right now;
over 12.5 million hens producing more than 193 million eggs each year.
Not one of them ever being able to walk around, peck or bathe in the
dust, stretch or flap their wings.
These conditions would be considered unacceptable for many other kinds of
animal yet these hens continue to suffer, every minute, of every hour, of
every day.
This is despite how much we now know about the intelligence and
capabilities of hens.
Anyone who has ever kept a group of chickens in their backyard can attest
to the difference in personality they display.
But did you know chickens live in social groups, and can recognise and
remember more than 100 other chickens by their facial features?
And that they communicate with around thirty distinct types of
vocalisations, with different alarm cries to indicate whether a predator is
travelling by land, air or sea!
Chickens also have the amazing ability to understand that an object, when
taken and hidden from view, does not disappear but in fact continues to
exist? this level of understanding is beyond the capacity of small
children.
Knowing this, do you think these clever, complex animals should be made
to pay such a price for cheaper eggs?
How important is it really to save a few cents on a carton of eggs?
These questions can only be answered by you please, choose wisely.

Free
Chickens from Cages
What does it mean to be one of the 10.5 million battery-caged hens in
Australia? Battery hens are kept on average for a year in wire mesh cages 40
cm high with a floor area per bird of 450 cm2 - about three-quarters of the
size of an A4 piece of paper. Battery cages do not allow the hens to stand
properly, preen their feathers, stretch out or flap their wings. Battery
hens cannot perch, cannot roost, cannot dustbathe, cannot forage for food
and cannot satisfy their urge to lay their eggs in a nest.
Continuous Suffering
The welfare of the battery-caged layer hen is the most compromised of all
farm animals. In Australia, millions of battery hens are housed in
conditions that would be unacceptable for any other species of livestock.
Preventing hens from performing these natural behaviours causes immense
frustration. The restricted movement and lack of exercise in battery cages
also causes skeletal and muscle weakness, and the cages' mesh floors and
lack of perches can cause serious muscle damage. In short, the scientific
evidence indicates that battery hens suffer intensely and continuously
throughout their confinement in cages.
The Evidence
Evidence from research into hen welfare indicates that battery hens suffer
intensely and continuously throughout their confinement in cages. The
research suggests that "battery cages cause suffering to hens in at least 7
different ways"*:
Chronic frustration of normal behaviours including
dustbathing and
wing-flapping.
Chronic inhibition of comfort behaviours and increased
incidence of
frustration behaviours.
Chronic stress and disruption of social interaction.
Acute suffering during the pre-laying period every day
caused by
frustration of nesting behaviour.
Prevention of foraging and feather pecking.
Inability to maintain bone strength due to restriction of
exercise.
Lack of perching opportunities and prevention of roosting.
*Baxter MR (1994). The welfare problems of laying hens in battery cages.
Veterinary Record 134:614-619.
Humane Alternatives
There
are humane alternatives to the battery cage system in the form of barn and
free-range housing systems. These systems overcome the problems associated
with confinement in battery cages by allowing hens to behave naturally.
Well-designed alternative systems provide hens with space to roam and
forage, perches, litter, suitable material for dustbathing, secluded areas
for laying eggs and allow the hens to preen, stretch out and flap their
wings: all behaviours which are frustrated in the battery cage. They also
make use of the bird's ability to fly by providing elevated terraces and
perches.
More information......
See our latest
media release
Review our frequently
asked questions
How you can help?
Dont buy cage eggs! If more humanely produced eggs arent available in your
local store, ask the store manager to start stocking the alternatives.
Watch out for our television
CSA (3Mb) and
advertisements appearing all over Australia!
Learn more about the lives of hens in battery cages
Send a
battery hen awareness e-card!
Download our
educational materials
Sign our
Fair Go for Farm
Animals petition and
contact us
if youd like a hard copy of the petition to gain signatures in your
community.
Lobby your local restaurants and cafes to only use certified free range or
barn-laid eggs RSPCA accredited eggs are a great choice because the RSPCA
regularly inspects farms to ensure the high standards are maintained.
Make your voice heard! Write to the
Australian Government Minister for Agriculture, your
State or
Territory Agricultural Minister, your
local MP and to local newspapers (click here for the contact details of
major newspapers and supermarkets). Express your anger and opposition to
cruelty in the farming industries.
The Hon Joe Helper MP
Minister for Agriculture
1 Spring Street
Melbourne 3000
Email
joe.helper@parliament.vic.gov.au

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