Egg Farming Exposed

2019 Exposé:

Layer Hen Depopulation and Culling

Final Days

The Victorian egg farm featured in this expose withheld food for days leading up to depopulation to save on costs. As a result, many of the hens died of starvation, whilst others resorted to cannibalism of their cage mates.

Depopulation

As the hens are rounded up, their fragile bodies are subject to rough handling by contract labourers. The hens can be heard screaming in fear, as they are ripped from their cages. Due to being deemed "useless", the workers have no regard for their welfare and can be seen bashing them against the cages, whilst regularly swearing at them for trying to escape. Further, the workers can be seen mocking and abusing the hens for amusement. They are thrown, hit, held up by their wings, and have their necks broken - all while other workers watch on and laugh. Consequently, many of the hens are left to suffer with fractured bones and ultimately die slow and painful.

Gassing

According to the Australian Egg Industry, the most "humane" slaughter practice is on-site carbon dioxide gassing. This contradicts researchers, who state that death by CO2 induced hypoxia is a highly distressing and uncomfortable way to die. From the footage, hens can be seen thrashing around, gasping for air and shrieking, for over two minutes before drawing their final breaths.

Endless Cycle

Sadly, the cycle does not end with their deaths. As the hens lifeless bodies are emptied into a dumpster, the next group of layers will be shoved into cages, or poured into overcrowded barns and fields. For the next 12months, they will endure the same pain and suffering as the prisoners before them, up until they are no longer producing eggs at peak rates.

Media

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Sydney Morning Herald
Daily Telegraph
The Age
News.com
Weekly Times Now
Yahoo News
MSN News
Border Mail
Perth Now
News Week
Adeliade Now
Nothern Territory News
Bendigo Advertiser
Canberra Times
Stock and Land
Daily Mail UK

2016 Exposé:

Live Maceration of Male Chicks and Debeaking of Females

Animal Liberation and Aussie Farms have exposed footage of the maceration of male chicks and debeaking of day-old females, in the Specialised Breeders Australia (SBA) Hatchery near Bendigo, Victoria, one of the country's largest egg-layer hatcheries.

The Australian egg industry grinds up or gasses over 12 million day-old chicks every year while they are still alive. This occurs in hatchery systems supplying caged, barn-laid, free-range, and organic egg-laying chickens.

In the footage, male chicks can be seen falling from the conveyor into a machine with blades that mangle and slash the young chicks to pieces. These chicks are fully capable of feeling pain. The violence we see in this footage is standard and LEGAL in the egg industry. This must change. If egg producers macerated or gassed kittens or puppies in the same way that male chicks are disposed of in the egg industry they would be prosecuted for animal cruelty.

Chickens are extremely intelligent, with similar cognitive abilities to mammals. They are capable of stress, fear and pain- exactly what they would be suffering when being macerated or gassed.

The egg industry must take responsibility for the cruelty in their industry and immediately stop the mass slaughter of male chicks.

2016

Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Huffington Post

2013 Exposé:

Steve’s Farm Fresh Eggs

In 2013, Animal Liberation exposed Steve’s Farm Fresh Eggs. The investigators found:

• Build up of excrement at the back of the sheds approximately 1 meter in depth which seeps into a water catchment area;

• Near the front of the sheds, almost every cage had 7 birds crammed into them, laying and stepping on each other, totally unable to move with even a skerrick of room. Not in any way in accordance with regulations stipulating all laying hens must have 550 square centimetres;

• Birds found with appalling infections including comb being four times normal size;

• Birds with deformed toes, curling under and in, unable to stand;

• The gradation of cages toward the back of the sheds provides no reasonable support for the bird's toes. Birds were witnessed unable to secure footing at all;

• A high number of corpses in the "free-range" area - what appeared to be slabs of rat poison. Noted and filmed rat under a chicken corpse. Some corpses were relatively new and others had obviously died many weeks ago. One corpse had been eaten by possibly a fox. There is no protection from predation for "free-range" chickens

• The trough at back of the shed contained hundreds of smashed eggs left to rot;

• The high levels of ammonia were causing chickens to cough, indicating respiratory infections';

• Openings of cages toward the back, just prior to the "free-range" area were approximately 16.51 cm, meaning depopulation of cages will cause extreme distress and pain;

• The free-range area is totally enclosed, no enrichment material, water trough so filthy and there were insect larvae moving around the sludge;

• Photographs of cartons marked "free-range eggs" and "caged eggs" - the amount of "free-range" birds able to lay would fill no more than a single carton a week - and even then the claim of "free-range" is fallacious.

2009:

Advertisements

In 2009, with the pro bono assistance of a major advertising agency and production house, Animal Liberation was able to have two powerful advertisements running during prime time on Channels 7 and 9. At the same time, we sent out stickers highlighting the cruelty of caged eggs.

As an organisation, we have of-coursed evolved to being vegan but at the time these ads were well received by the public. 

They were also seen by 1.5 million people on the Gruen Transfer on the ABC.

We had also been regularly showing the public factory farm cruelty by utilising railway and bus billboards and shelters.  Sadly, in 2009 RailCorp’s advertising banned our very gentle, non-graphic billboards. That made news around Australia and guaranteed far more people heard the plight of battery hens than had the billboards been allowed.

2006:

Advertisements

In 2006, we were fortunate to get Caravan Pictures along with advertising guru, Adam Hunt, and team Maureen McCabe, Lisa McLeod and Paul Carter to create our first professional advertisement.  It became an award-winning ad and was shown, among other places, at Moonlight Cinemas.

1997:

Annongrove Park, NSW

In 1997, Animal Liberation investigated a caged egg farm in NSW. The hens were found to have Marek’s disease - caused by the herpes virus. The hens suffer from paralysis of legs, wings, and neck, weight loss, vision impairment and raised and roughened skin around the feather follicles.

Media

The exposé made the front cover of the Sydney Morning Herald for three days.

Outcome

The farmer eventually stopped farming eggs and now grows grapes!

Various Years:

Protests & Awareness Events

Over the years, Animal Liberation has held various protests to have caged eggs banned, and advocated to stop egg farming all together.

1976

Campaign Begins

In 1976, Christine Townend, Animal Liberation’s founder, entered a layer hen facility and brought the plight of caged hens to the public, through the “60 Minutes” program. She also raised awareness about the debeaking process and the suffering it causes to hens.