Aussie hens condemned to 10+ more years in cages.

Barren battery cages have long been regarded internationally as an outdated and extreme form of factory farming. Sociable animals who would normally spend their days foraging, exploring and dust-bathing are kept in stacked wire cages, crammed in with up to 5 other birds. Caged hens never feel sunlight and cannot even stretch and flap their wings.  It’s a miserable existence.

The Poultry Code – which sets standards for all farmed birds – was supposed to be reviewed in 2010. But ongoing delays have not only exposed deep flaws within Australia’ s system of animal welfare regulation but the enormous influence wielded by the cage egg industry. Media exposés even exposed the corruption of this process in New South Wales, the state most opposed to banning cages.

Ultimately, public pressure has forced governments to agree to put an end date on the battery cage. But the phase-out period will last 10 to 15 years – potentially condemning more than 55 million hens to a lifetime of misery.

Hens still have a chance for freedom…

… but they need our help to fight for it. State governments can choose to ‘go it alone’ and phase out cages in their state well before the agreed end date of 2036. And there’s a strong chance they’ll listen if enough of us rise up on behalf of our feathered friends.

How do you know your voice is powerful? Well, when the review of poultry standards began, a ban on battery cages wasn’t even being considered. Instead, the draft review was recommending a slight increase in cage sizes.

But then something extraordinary happened. 167,000 individual submissions were made during the public consultation period making it the largest response to a review of animal welfare standards in Australia’s history. And 99% of those submissions called for a ban on battery cages.

That’s why there is now at least an end date on the cruellest farming device ever invented. Our task now is to bring that end date closer. Send a message to your state MP calling for battery cages to be banned as soon as possible. 

Egg-laying hens are not the only animals who have been failed by this review. Sadly, the prolonged phase out of battery cages could be considered to be the most ‘progressive’ outcome of the flawed Poultry Code review process.

Despite the review needing to equally consider the latest animal welfare science and community sentiment, along with industry interests, most farmed birds in Australia will continue to suffer lives of deprivation.

• Most farmed ducks will still be denied water baths – leaving them unable to clean themselves properly and making them more susceptible to heat stress, respiratory illnesses, lameness and eye sores.
• Turkeys and chickens will still suffer under unnatural weight gain – to maximise meat production. Such rapid growth puts enormous pressure on their immature hearts and skeletons.
• Chickens used for breeding can still be kept chronically hungry – through an industry practice called ‘skip-a-day feeding’ designed to keep them alive, and productive, for longer. 
• Geese, quail, guinea fowl, ostriches, partridge, pheasants and emus will also continue to suffer the same crowding and cruel husbandry procedures as other farmed birds.

Birds farmed for their meat and eggs are all victims of an outdated way of thinking that deemed some animals worthy of kindness, and not others. Help shift this paradigm by urging your MP to ban battery cages and work to enshrine compassion in our laws, not cruelty.

They live, they feel, they befriend. They have curious minds and beating hearts. But for birds farmed for their meat and eggs, their value has been measured entirely in what their bodies can produce. Then our laws entrenched their suffering and called it ‘business’.

These animals are victims of an old way of thinking that only we as a community can shift.

Every time you enjoy a plant-based meal you’re helping reduce the demand for animal products that has led to animals being treated so cruelly. See how easy and delicious it is to eat egg and meat free by ordering a free Veg Starter Guide today.