Egg laying hens
Going to work on an egg may be out of fashion, but we do eat one egg approximately every other day. In total, the UK alone consumes over 30 million eggs per day.
High production values
Laying hens have been bred for egg laying. Modern commercial hens produce a very high yield of around 300 eggs a year. Chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years but after 12 months of laying, the hen’s productivity will start to decline. This is when most commercial laying hens are slaughtered.
The barren battery cage
The barren battery has been banned in Europe since January 1st 2012. While it is now illegal to sell eggs from these cages there are still some countries that flout the ban. We are campaigning tirelessly to ensure all the countries meet the new regulations.
Hens in barren battery cage
Barren battery cage eggs come from hens kept in small cages where their natural behaviours cannot be expressed. While this is now banned in Europe over 3 billion hens are still kept in these cages in other countries around the world every year.
They are prevented from foraging for food, nesting, roosting and dust-bathing.
This causes hens extreme physical and psychological discomfort.
There are a number of welfare issues for egg laying hens.
