Compassion in World Farming

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End the Cage Age for Europe’s laying hens:
http://action.ciwf.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=119&ea.campaig n.id=39977

'In 2012, the battery cage ban came into force and, gradually, Europe’s hens were removed from barren cages. This was a big step forward, rightly celebrated for the welfare benefits it could offer to laying hens.

But Compassion in World Farming’s Investigation Unit has been looking into what this really means for hens. And, visiting four EU Member States, our team found hidden factory farms where productivity rules the roost.

Watch our short investigation film to see what we discovered and then call on Europe’s Agriculture Ministers to End the Cage Age for Europe’s laying hens.

The long road to freedom

Change doesn’t happen overnight, and we knew the battery cage ban was just the first step in a long road to improving the lives of Europe’s 498 million laying hens. But powerful forces have evaded the spirit of our campaign to ban the barren battery cage, and almost 60% of Europe’s hens are still confined in cages.

‘Enriched’ cages, whilst an improvement on the old barren cages, still do not permit Europe’s hens to carry out their natural behaviours. After all, a cage is still a cage.

Compassion’s Investigation Unit found birds who were heavily feather pecked, many with beaks severely trimmed, spending their entire lives confined in cramped cages with wire mesh floors. The ‘enrichment’ in these cages – small scratching pads, slippery perches and inadequate nesting boxes – amounted to little more than window dressing.

This may be legal, but it surely can't be right

Email your Agriculture Minister and urge them to End the Cage Age for Europe's hens.'