Battery Hen Welfare Trust

"Working to inspire a free range future"

Patrons: Jamie Oliver, Harbour & Jones, Duchess of Richmond, Hens re-homed to date ... 185,517 Pam Ayres, Amanda Holden, Antony Worrall-Thompson

The Cage Ban

The GOOD news:

Provided the ban is enforced, from 1st January 2012 NO laying hens will be kept in tiny ‘barren’ cages which restrict every aspect of their natural behaviour.

The FUTURE:

The caged system DOES NOT disappear altogether in 2012 – many farmers within the industry plan to use an enriched caged system. The enriched cage is designed to hold up to 90 birds and does give the hens more freedoms including:

• Potential to nest - one end of the enriched cage has a small nesting area
• Potential to roost - perches 3-4” high run along part of the cage
• Potential to scratch - a small scratch area is provided with friable matter
• Potential to stretch - the height and width of the cage allows for more freedom of movement

This is our view on the enriched cage:

The enriched cage offers birds an improved environment over the barren cage for the above reasons. The enriched system as it stands does not offer the birds an environment we believe fulfils their behavioural and psychological needs. We do not consider the enriched cage an acceptable alternative to high welfare – free range and organic systems outweigh the enriched cage system on most welfare counts…

...however, let’s not forget the introduction of the enriched cage results from our constant demand for cheap food over welfare issues

Imports

As other countries unfortunately gear up to increase caged production when our ban in 2012 comes into force, the BHWT policy is clear in that we would rather see British caged production than imported caged eggs where welfare and audit is entirely out of our control.

IF you would like to see fewer hens in cages and more hens free ranging

SUPPORT BRITISH FARMERS

farming to higher standards and …

… be prepared to pay a little extra so the hens that have laid your eggs will have been able to enjoy the sunshine on their backs and experience the pleasures of running through the fields chasing insects!