WASHINGTON—On April 12, The Delaware Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on a bill that would provide the most basic humane protection for the state's egg-laying hens: enough room merely to spread their wings. The Humane Society of the United States urges the committee to pass the proposed bill, asserting that egg producers who intensively confine their birds in restrictive battery cages should meet this bare minimum animal welfare standard.
On January 26, Senator Karen Peterson introduced the bill. She explained, "The vast majority of Delaware's chicken farmers don't confine their birds in cages so overcrowded that they can barely move. However, some of our state's egg-laying hens do suffer this cruel and inhumane fate, and this must come to an end."
Egg-laying hens who are confined in battery cages are generally afforded so little space that they are unable even to spread their wings, let alone engage in other important natural behaviors such as nesting, foraging, perching, and dust bathing. Each caged chicken has less floor space than a single letter-sized sheet of paper on which to live for more than a year, leading to extremely high levels of stress and frustration.
"Confining birds so intensively that they can't even fully extend their wings for months on end is inherently cruel," asserts Paul Shapiro, The HSUS's factory farming campaign manager. "We commend Senator Peterson for working to ensure that the Agriculture Code reflects the values of Delaware's citizens and we strongly urge the Agriculture Committee to pass this bill."
The fact that most caged laying hens can't even spread their wings inside battery cages has played a significant role in the growing trend of consumers and supermarket chains moving away from any association with eggs from caged birds. For example, Trader Joe's—which has a store location in Wilmington—has converted all of its brand eggs to cage-free. Other corporate leaders, such as Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, have completely ended their sales of eggs from caged birds. And food service provider Bon Appétit, which serves 55 million meals each year in nearly 200 dining facilities, is also phasing out its use of battery-cage eggs.
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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.
