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Liberate hens from cages! Sign the petition now!

Jun 01, 2018    Share to: facebook line LinkedIn WhatsApp line

Demand that the government set a schedule to guide the industry shift to ‘friendly egg production’ and abolish battery cages within ten years by signing the petition!

 

Are these the eggs you eat?

Eggs play an important role in most people’s lives. But perhaps you didn’t know about the cruelty inflicted by the farming systems known as ‘battery cages’. 

 

In battery cage systems, two to four hens are stuffed together in cages approximately the size of an A4 sheet of paper. This is where they conduct all of their activities—eating, drinking, and defecating—all in the same space. The cramped conditions cause hens to trample on each other, and for their entire lives they are unable to stretch their wings freely or feel the earth under their feet.

 

These hens are forced to lay for a lifetime, with no way to exercise their most fundamental natural behaviours.

 

Treating hens as egg-laying machines rather than living creatures not only ignores these animals’ basic needs, but also leads to food safety problems and the spread of avian flu, as well as other infectious diseases.

 

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Taiwan currently raises around 36,500,000 laying hens, with 90% still living in cruel battery cages.
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Intensive confinement sharply increases the risk of heat stress and asphyxia for hens. Due to the intensive confinement, hens regularly peck or trample on each other. This, along with lack of exercise, means that hens are susceptible to illness, paralysis, bone fracture, or even death!

If hens are sick, how is it possible to avoid drug residues on eggs?

Scientific research indicates that battery cage environments, which strip hens of space in which to live, move and express natural behaviours (especially building nests, perching in a high place, foraging, dust bathing, etc), are severely detrimental to hens’ metabolism and osteoporosis risk, and sharply increase the incidence of pecking, prolapse, bone fractures, heat stress, asphyxia, and other afflictions. In addition, filthy living environments can also cause problems with feather lice, leading farmers to spray the pesticide fipronil. This can result in severe cases of residual contamination. 

 

To avoid unhealthy, abused hens from becoming sick, resulting in economic losses, it is normal for all kinds of prophylactic antibiotics to be added to their feed. Additional drugs can also be fed to these animals, who are prone to respiratory, digestive, and immune system and skeletal problems as a result of their living environment, when they are unwell. As soon as the hens’ production rate drops, producers will starve the hens to induce forced moulting and metabolic activity, so that they continue to lay. When hens are raised in such unhealthy, drug-ridden conditions, how can it be possible to avoid drug residues on the eggs we eat?

 

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To avoid unhealthy, abused hens from falling sick, resulting in economic losses, it is normal for all kinds of prophylactic antibiotics to be added to their feed. 
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Sign the petition now to end the suffering of tens of millions of egg laying hens, and take action for your own health!

 

Countries around the world are making progress towards abolishing battery cages

Starting from January 1 2012, the European Union banned farmers from raising hens using the conventional battery cage production system, due to public health and animal welfare concerns. In addition, it was legislated that all commercially sold eggs must clearly state the production system they came from, allowing customers to choose from barn (hens raised in a barn), free range (aside from the barn, hens also have access to outdoors space), or organic (free range standards, plus organic feed material) eggs, depending on their own eating preferences. 

See the progress countries around the world have made towards abolishing the battery cage here.

 

Sign the petition now!

End the suffering of tens of millions of hens, and take action for your own health!

 

Whether farmed animals live well or not is certain to have an impact on the quality and safety of animal products. Out of concern for human health risks, animal welfare, food safety, environmental quality, and industry advancement, we demand that the Council of Agriculture:

  • Initiate a policy transition to guide egg producers towards ‘friendly egg production systems’

  • Ban new construction or rebuilding of battery cage systems

  • Comprehensively phase out battery cage systems within ten years

 

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This petition was launched by the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan. Data collected by the petition will be used only for the purpose of promoting changes to regulations to abolish battery cages.

 

Cage Free Alliance certification

Please visit the website of EAST’s Cage Free Alliance to support the movement to abolish battery cages and purchase products from farms that adhere to ‘friendly egg production’ standards. These farms have been visited and inspected by EAST.  

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