Imagine spending your entire life crammed into a tiny wire cage – packed shoulder to shoulder with others of your own kind.
You are so crowded that you cannot walk or even fully extend your limbs. Imagine living side by side with the rotting bodies of your cage mates and suffering for weeks on end with untreated wounds and infections.
For over 250 million hens in the United States this is their daily reality.
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation is throwing back the curtains on one of California’s largest factory egg farms - exposing the routine abuse that takes place behind the closed doors of our nation’s egg industry.
From August – September, an MFA investigator worked at Norco Ranch in Menifee, CA, documenting standard egg industry animal abuse, including:
Birds confined in tiny wire cages so small they couldn’t walk, perch, fully stretch their wings, or engage in other basic behaviors
Ill birds neglected to die on top of dead piles – denied veterinary care or proper attention
Workers killing birds by grabbing their necks and swinging them around in circles – an attempt to break their necks which often resulted in prolonged deaths for the animals
Hens suffering from bloody open wounds and untreated infections
Dead hens left to decompose in cages with birds still laying eggs for human consumption
Birds trapped in the wire of their cages or under the feeding trays without access to food or water
MFA's newest investigation illustrates once again that animal cruelty and neglect are the egg industry standard.
Such investigative footage is further evidence that battery cages are inherently cruel and should be banned. This November Californians will have a chance to do just that by voting yes on proposition 2 – a modest proposal that would grant farmed animals in the state the ability to stand up, turn around, lie down, and extend their limbs.
As consumers we can choose to support kindness over cruelty at each meal. Adopting a compassionate vegan diet is one of the best actions we can take to prevent needless animal suffering and end the conditions documented during this investigation.
