Major investigation at laying hen farms by Viva! reveals a shocking insight into the UK egg industry

As featured in The Guardian [1], Europe’s largest vegan campaigning charity, Viva! [2] has released a damning Special Report [3] on the British egg industry based on extensive undercover investigations carried out over a year inside cage, free-range, and organic laying hen farms. Egg consumption in Britain has been steadily growing over several years and, in 2015 alone, according to egg industry data, around 10 billion eggs were produced in Britain [4].

The UK laying flock in 2015 was estimated to be at 36 million [4]. Around 12 billion eggs were eaten by consumers in Britain in the same year, which equates to 33 million eggs per day. Fifty one per cent of eggs laid in the UK in 2015 were from hens incarcerated in ‘enriched’ cages, 47 per cent from so-called ‘free-range’ birds (including an estimated two per cent organic), and two per cent from ‘barn’ living birds [4] [5].

Many people assume that life for laying hens has improved since the banning of the conventional ‘battery’ cage across Europe in 2012. The battery cage however has been replaced by another cage – the so-called enriched (or ‘colony’) cage. Currently around half of the 36 million [4] laying hens in Britain live in these wire mesh cages.

Viva!’s Special Report reveals that while there were varying degrees of standards across the farms, similar problems exist across the board. Aside from documenting conditions on farms housing laying hens, as part of this investigation Viva! also obtained footage from a rearing unit where young hens (pullets) were housed in barren cages.

Viva!’s investigation findings include:

• Hens with extensive feather loss and other health problems
• Dead birds lying amongst live ones
• Widespread evidence of the controversial beak trimming practice
• Birds crammed into cages with up to 80 others no privacy or means of escape
• Squalid free-range farms labelled as ‘high welfare’
• High stocking densities, with hundreds of thousands of birds being housed in sheds. One shed housed 400,000 birds

Each farm filmed at was, at the time of the investigation, accredited with the British Lion Quality codes of practice – an assurance scheme that around 85 per cent of UK eggs adhere to, and which should mean the farm is subjected to regular and independent auditing. Some of the UK’s largest egg companies were included in the investigation, including Ridgeway Foods and Noble Foods. Some farms were accredited under the RSPCA Assured Scheme. One shed, churning out eggs for the company Bird Bros, housed around 400,000 birds.

Viva! investigators documented at all enriched cage farms hens who were crammed into barren cages with extensive feather loss, dead birds lying amongst live birds, birds with mutilated beaks, filthy cage floors covered in faeces, and birds who appeared seriously ill. The evidence against battery cages has been overwhelming yet it is clear that the very same welfare problems exist for hens incarcerated inside enriched cages. Unable to escape the close proximity of other hens or fulfil natural behaviours, birds become bored and frustrated, which causes inevitable suffering. The restricted movement opportunities in a cage environment lead to physical impairments, such as poor skeletal strength and osteoporosis. The enriched cage, Viva! has demonstrated, fails to cater for the hen’s physical and behavioural needs on a staggering scale, and imposes gross restrictions on basic movements and behaviours. Something the UK Government’s own advisory body, Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC), stated back in 2007 [6].

On free-range farms visited during the investigation, hens were shut inside dark, stinking, filthy sheds – similar to those used to house hens laying ‘barn’ eggs. The hens, whilst uncaged on the free-range farms, had comparable feather loss to those on cage units. At each free-range farm, investigators documented dead hens.

Studies reveal many of the hens living on free-range farms will never step outside because of high stocking densities, competition for access from other birds, and inadequate conditions [7] [8].

Hens nowadays are selectively bred to produce many more eggs than they would do naturally. This, along with a restrictive environment, intense lighting and high protein feed on modern-day farms, means hens succumb to health problems such as fatty liver haemorrhagic syndrome. Birds housed in cages are more likely to be affected as they are unable to exercise to burn off the extra dietary energy.

Mounting public pressure against the caging of hens has resulted in a surge of cage-free pledges over the past year by supermarket giants such as Tesco [9], ALDI [10], ASDA [11], Morrisons [12] and Iceland [13]. However overwhelmingly bans will not come into force for another nine years. Viva!’s footage reveals nine years to be too long, but also that free-range farming results in similar health and welfare problems.

Claire Palmer, author of Viva!’s Special Report says: “Viva!’s undercover investigation – one of the most extensive of its kind – outlined in ‘Laying Hens – The Inside Story’ reveals that, regardless of the label, eggs cause pain, ill-health, and suffering on an unacceptable scale. Four years on from the battery cage, 18 million hens remain incarcerated in cages, and those categorised as ‘free-range’ fare little better. Customers buying ‘higher welfare’ eggs may be unaware that they are funding the caging of hens by the very same companies. British consumers are being duped and we urge them to not support the cruelty by going vegan.”

Viva! Campaigns is renowned for its undercover investigations into farmed animal abuse. It also encourages and helps people to exclude animal products from their diet.

ENDS information:

Notes for editors

Laying Hens: The Inside Story can be viewed online here: www.viva.org.uk/eggreport
Viva!’s campaign information and Egg Factsheet can be viewed here: https://www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/cracked

REFERENCES:

1. Newkey-Burden C. 2017. Don’t be fooled by the pretty box: find out the horror behind your egg. 27 February 2017. The Guardian.
2. Viva! website. 2016. Home Page. [online] Available at: www.viva.org.uk [Accessed 1 March 2017].
3. Viva! 2016. Special Report ‘Laying Hens: The Inside Story’. Viva!
4. Egg Info website. 2016. Industry Data. [online] Available from: www.egginfo.co.uk/egg-facts-and-figures/industry-information/data [Accessed 1 March 2017].
5. DEFRA. 2016a. United Kingdom Egg Statistics – Quarter 1, 2016 [online] Available from: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system [Accessed 1 March 2017].
6. FAWC. 2007. Opinion on beak trimming of laying hens – November 2007.
7. [Hegelund L, Sørensen JT and Kjær JB. 2005. Use of the range area in organic egg production systems: effect of climatic factors, flock size, age and artificial cover. British Poultry Science. 46 1-8.
8. Hegelund L, Sørensen JT and Hermansen JE. 2006. Welfare and productivity of laying hens in commercial organic egg production systems in Denmark. NJAS 54 (2): 147-155.
9. Tesco website. 2016. Groceries [online] Available from: www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=252114301 [Accessed 1 March 2017].
10. McDougal T. 2016. Aldi to phase out sale of colony eggs in stores [online] Available from: www.fwi.co.uk/poultry/aldi-to-phase-out-saleof-colony-eggs-in-stores.htm [Accessed 1 March 2017].
11. Farming UK. 2016a. Asda joins Lidl and Morrisons in ditching caged eggs in favour of more ethical options [online] Available from: www.farminguk.com/News/Asda-joins-Lidl-and-Morrisons-in-ditchingcaged-eg… [Accessed 1 March 2017].
12. Farming UK. 2016. Morrisons becomes latest in string of retailers to go cage-free by 2025 [online] Available from: www.farminguk.com/News/Morrisons-becomes-latest-in-string-ofretailers-to… [Accessed 1 March 2-17].
13. Davies J. 2016b. Iceland and Sodexo both commit to cage-free eggs. 25 July 2016. [online] Available from: www.fwi.co.uk/poultry/icelandand-sodexo-both-commit-to-cage-free-eggs.htm [Accessed 1 March 2017].