What
are battery eggs?
Battery
eggs are laid by hens which spend their whole laying life in metal
cages which hold up to five birds. Within the cage, each bird has
no more than the size of an A4 sheet of paper to herself.
She has no room
to flap her wings or walk freely, no litter to dust-bathe or scratch
in, and no privacy or comfort in which to lay her eggs. She stands
or squats all day and night on a wire mesh floor which is sloped
to allow the eggs to roll away into a collection system.
Over the year
or so that she spends in the cage, her feathers will be damaged
and rubbed off by the wires and the close proximity of the other
birds, her feet will become deformed, and her legs and body structure
will be weakened by lack of exercise.
Battery Hens
What
are barn eggs?
Barn eggs are laid by hens which are free to move around indoors.
They are able to walk and flap their wings. They have deep litter
in which to scratch and dust-bathe. There are feed and water stations
placed throughout the shed. Above the litter is a central raised platform
where the hens roost at night. Above the platform are the nesting
boxes where the hens can lay their eggs in comfort and privacy.
Barn Hens
What
are free-range eggs?
Free-range eggs are laid by hens which are free during the day to
range outdoors in paddocks, where they have plenty of room to forage,
dust-bathe, stretch and flap their wings, and perform their natural
behaviours. They have an indoor area in which to shelter, feed and
roost at night, and nesting boxes in which to lay their eggs in private.
They are kept in small flocks.
Free-range Hens
How
can I tell which eggs are which?
Don’t
be fooled!
Not every carton
emblazoned with words like “free ranging” or “barn raised” actually
contains eggs that deserve these descriptions.
Furthermore,
even if eggs really are free-range or barn eggs, they might be just
a small part of the total output of a producer who also supplies
the market with battery eggs.
One way of making
sure the eggs you buy are produced in a consistently humane environment
is to look for an “RNZSPCA Approved” logo on the carton.
To earn the
right to carry our logo, an egg producer must meet our high welfare
standards and accept thorough and regular auditing on behalf of
New Zealand’s leading and most experienced animal welfare organisation.
How
can I be sure the eggs I purchase are from hens that have been well
treated and cared for?
Our logo will tell you for sure whether the eggs have been produced
under a barn or free-range system. In either case, the logo will be
your guarantee that the hens who laid the eggs are well treated and
cared for throughout their lives.
How
do the living conditions of battery hens affect their well-being?
Hens suffer enormous emotional and physical distress in battery cages.
Their bones become weak and brittle, they lose much of their feathers
and their claws become deformed from standing on a sloping, wire mesh
floor. They cannot perch, dust-bathe, run and flap their wings, peck
at the ground or make a nest, all of which are natural behaviours
for a hen.
Can
I make a real difference? Yes,
you can!
By choosing
free-range or barn eggs you will be joining a worldwide movement
aimed at dragging food production into the twenty-first century.
Across the globe,
consumers are voting with their wallets in favour of food produced
without the needless suffering of birds and animals. Egg accreditation
schemes similar to the Royal New Zealand SPCA’s scheme are thriving
in Britain, continental Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia.
None of us can
achieve much on our own. But, together, we can make a huge difference
to the way our hens are treated!
What
can I do?
You can
send a message to battery egg producers in the language they understand,
the language of money!
Instead of buying
eggs produced under these cruel conditions, you can opt for RNZSPCA
Approved barn or free-range eggs.
