Kept in cages, they don't even have space to spread their wings; kept in barn systems, 9 of them must share a single square metre. Essere Animali's new investigation reveals the conditions of laying hens in Italy.
We picture them roaming freely, pecking at their feed, but the reality is very different. This is revealed by the new investigation carried out by Essere Animali in Italy's largest hen farms. True egg factories with one single imperative: produce more. Consumers can choose the farming method, but many aspects of the industry, such as hatcheries, remain hidden.
In Italy, 34 million hens — 92 per cent of those farmed — live in overcrowded sheds, never seeing grass or sunlight. The dimensions permitted by law are staggering: in cage farming, they don't even have enough space to spread their wings. It's like putting 13 hens on a desk and forcing them to live there. In barn farming, there are no cages, but there are nine animals per square metre. Under these conditions, stress levels are so high that beak trimming is necessary — that is, the mutilation of the tip of the beak — to limit injuries caused by aggression.
The images show hens that are featherless, anaemic, with leg infections and nail problems. Some are so lethargic they can barely move. Others no longer move at all, because they cannot survive one year and eight months under these conditions. Once that time has elapsed, they are all sent to slaughter — very young, yet already exhausted by the hyper-production of eggs, made possible by selective breeding, high-protein feeds and artificial light cycles.
Farms and slaughterhouses are not the only secrets behind egg production. Hens are born in hatcheries and, as soon as they hatch, are separated from the male chicks, who, unlike them, do not produce eggs. The treatment reserved for the latter says a great deal about how the industry regards animals. Millions of male chicks are ground up alive because they are considered useless — nothing more than waste.
Consumers can choose the farming method via a code printed on the eggs, which identifies cage farming with the number 3 and barn farming with the number 2, but suffering, mutilations and the killing of chicks are all part of industrial egg production. Even the very few free-range farms (code 1) and organic farms (code 0), though they provide hens with outdoor space, do not escape cruel practices. This is not a provocation: it is easier to avoid eating eggs than to find one for sale for which no animal has been mistreated or killed.
In 2017, Italian farms produced over 10 billion eggs — as many as were consumed, both whole and as egg products, that is, as an ingredient in ready-made preparations. By avoiding their consumption, one can be certain of distancing oneself from this system; besides, adopting a plant-based diet is simpler than one might think.
It's also possible to proceed step by step: start by reducing egg consumption, or, where possible, source them from a trusted local farmer, or give up buying them altogether while still allowing yourself the occasional exception at a dinner with friends. These are everyday habits that don't turn our lives upside down, but that can make a difference for animals. Let's leave the apathy to farmed hens — they have no choice; we do.