Animal Equality
Donate
Illegal and cruel battery cages in egg farms
New investigation from Animal Equality brings to light the horrific and illegal cruelties inflicted on egg-laying hens in India.
See the petition

Act now

Battery cages in egg farms are a blatant violation of law
Animal Equality, an animal protection organization based in Pune, India investigated several egg facilities between August and December 2016 in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, which are Indian states known for their egg production.

Four to eight hens crammed in a
cage no bigger than two A4 sheets
of paper.

The hens often step on each
other in an attempt to find space
to move.

Due to the wired floor of the cage, their feet become sore, cracked and deformed.

These overcrowded cages are usually stacked one on top of another, causing urine and feces to fall onto birds in lower cages.

Many hens were also missing their feathers and had abrasions and irritations on their skin, probably due to the high concentration of ammonia from their litter.

The litter is collected in huge piles underneath the stacked cages. And it is disposed once every few weeks. The lack of timely disposal can lead to diseases and mortality among the birds.

Sick and weak hens are unable to reach the food.
These cruel battery cages are used rampantly in spite of the section 11 (1) (e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 which prohibits confining birds in battery cages, and the Animal Welfare Board of India's advisory to all the states which directed to phase out battery cages by 2017.

“It is 2017 and yet there is still no sign of these cruel and illegal battery cages being phased out. All the countries in the European Union have banned battery cages. Why is India, a nation known for ahimsa (non-violence), lagging behind? Battery cages are against our law and our values. The state governments must step in and implement the ban.”
Amruta Ubale, Executive Director of Animal Equality India
Sign the petition

Learn more
about cruelty
free diet
Learn more (PDF)
Pune | India · 9590903990
[email protected]

I request you to please issue an immediate order to:

  • Phase out the use of battery cages used in layer hens by 2022.
  • Introduce in-ovo sexing technology to prevent the brutal killing of male chicks.
  • Prohibit slaughter at markets or any other place other than a licensed slaughterhouse.
  • Make stunning animals prior to slaughter mandatory.
  • Form a committee to monitor the welfare of hens and chickens

With this decision, more than 230 million hens, 282 million chickens and 180 million male chicks will be saved from unnecessary suffering and death.

Thank you for signing the petition, !

You can also help by spreading the word: