Hens in factory farming.

Egg production in factory farms is based on caged hens. In the USA the primary egg industry trade association United Egg Producers created the "Animal Care Certified" voluntary programme in 2000 in response to public protest about the conditions under which the animals are held. Participation in the programme allows egg producers to use the "Animal Care Certified" logo when selling their eggs.

The "Animal Care Certified" guidelines permit producers to

• Confine birds in cages so small they cannot flap their wings or engage in other natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, dust bathing, and foraging.
• Starve birds to the point where they have lost 30% of their bodyweight in order to manipulate the egg-laying cycle.
• Burn off parts of the beaks of chicks without painkiller in order to reduce the impact of stress-induced aggression and prevent feed spillage, thereby lowering feed costs.

Photos: from the websites of Eggscam.com and OpenRescue, assumed to be of puboic interest and therefore in the public domain

References

Eggscam.com (2004) Exposing animal cruelty and consumer fraud. http://eggscam.com/ (accessed 4 October 2004)

OpenRescue.org (2004) Austrian Battery Hen Campaign. http://www.openrescue.org/rescues/20030730/2003_07_31.html (accessed 4 October 2004)

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