The HSUS's Campaign to Ban Battery Cages |
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Arguably the most abused animals in all agribusiness, nearly 280 million laying hens in the United States are confined in barren, wire battery cages so restrictive the birds can't even spread their wings. With no opportunity to engage in many of their natural behaviors, including nesting, dust bathing, perching, and foraging, these birds endure lives wrought with suffering.
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Victory! California Bans Battery Cages |
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Because of animal welfare concerns, countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, and Austria have banned battery cages. The entire European Union is phasing out conventional cages by 2012.
The HSUS is working to free egg-laying hens from the confines of battery cages:
In the Courtroom and in Legislatures
The HSUS routinely supports bills in state legislatures that would ban battery cages. Bills relating to battery cage confinement have been introduced in states as varied as Arizona, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington.
In 2008, The HSUS was a primary sponsor of California's Prop 2—the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act—which passed by a landslide vote of more than 63%. This new law makes it a criminal offense (with a phase-out period) to confine hens in battery cages, pigs in gestation crates and calves in veal crates.
At the local government level, we've worked with Cambridge, Mass., Takoma Park, Md., West Hollywood, Calif., New Port Richey, Fla., Winter Springs, Fla., Berkeley, Calif., Santa Cruz, Calif., West Palm Beach, Fla., Hollywood, Fla., Tampa, Fla., and San Francisco, Calif. to pass resolutions opposing the cruelty inherent in battery cage egg production and urging city residents not to buy battery eggs.
With Corporations
Across the country, major corporations from retail chains to tech giants are taking a stand against battery cage cruelty. Burger King, Denny's, Carl's Jr. and Hardee's are beginning to move away from cage eggs. National grocery chains such as Whole Foods Market join a number of regional chains, including Earth Fare, Andronico's, New Leaf Community Markets, and Jimbo's...Naturally in refusing to sell any battery eggs and maintaining exclusively cage-free egg policies. Trader Joe's has converted all of its brand eggs to cage-free. Other grocers such as Safeway and Harris Teeter have issued purchasing preferences for cage-free eggs and explicitly urged their suppliers to move away from battery cage confinement.
The world's largest food-service provider, Compass Group, is phasing out cage shell eggs for all its 8,000 U.S. accounts. This announcement followed Bon Appétit's decision to phase out cage eggs for all of its 400 cafés, including major corporate clients such as Yahoo!, Oracle Corporation, Cisco Systems, Adidas, Best Buy, and Nordstrom. Chartwells and Guckenheimer, some of the largest U.S.-owned food service companies, made similar decisions.
Wolfgang Puck has ended his use of cage eggs. Restaurant chains Quiznos, Burgerville and Finagle A Bagel have instituted cage-free egg policies, while Bruegger's is exclusively using cage-free eggs in its Wisconsin, Vermont, Virginia, District of Columbia, and Western Massachusetts bagel cafes. Ben & Jerry's is phasing out its use of cage eggs as well. Even companies such as AOL and Google exclusively use cage-free eggs in their employee cafeterias. Chicago's Swedish Covenant Hospital will only serve cage-free eggs to its patients.
With Colleges and Universities
More than 350 schools have enacted policies to eliminate or greatly decrease their use of eggs from caged hens, including Harvard, University of Minnesota, Dartmouth College, University of California-Berkeley, University of New Hampshire, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Tufts University, and Georgetown University.
With the Public
The HSUS offers numerous materials that make it easier for consumers to avoid battery eggs. Some include our guide to egg carton labels, our brochure about one of the most common labels on battery egg cartons, and our endless eggless options.
Updated June 8, 2009
See the Video
Battery-Cage Eggs
Related Links
Cage-Free Egg Production vs. Battery-Cage Egg Production
Cage-Free Campus
A Brief Guide to Egg Carton Labels and Their Relevance to Animal Welfare
About Chickens
Scientists and Experts on Battery Cages and Laying Hen Welfare
Egg-Laying Hens Photo Gallery
Endless Eggless Options
A Comparison of the Welfare of Hens in Battery Cages and Alternative Systems
