We can’t let the British beat us at sport, so we certainly can’t let them be the first to abolish battery cages for hens. They have just improved the amount of space in which a hen is allowed to spend her short, wretched life from 550 to 750 square centimetres. It’s a small step, but it allows birds at least the previously unavailable opportunity to stretch their wings and have a perch to sit on.
Chickens are extremely social and inquisitive animals who can complete complex mental tasks and have been shown to worry about the future.
But imprisoned in tiny cages with several other birds, the 11 million chickens kept on battery farms in Australia will never see the sun, stretch their wings, perch, scratch and bathe in the dirt or be allowed to perform any of their natural behaviours. Instead, they face a life of misery and suffering.
Hens imprisoned in Australian battery cages have part of their sensitive beaks cut off; are trampled by the other birds in their tiny, wire-floored cages and suffer from various injuries, including broken bones that will be left untreated.
Come on, Aussie – we can beat the Brits! Let’s abolish factory-farmed eggs and battery cages and show that we have by far a bigger heart. They may have the Ashes, but they’ll have egg on their faces.
Ashley Fruno,
Campaigns Manager
PETA Australia
