Animal rights group, egg producers agree to work for better conditions for caged laying hens

By Rita R. Robison

The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers have agreed to work together for a series of reforms that will improve the lives of laying hens.

The UEP, a trade association for the egg industry, and the society have been battling for years over the confinement practices in the industry – specifically, keeping laying hens in barren battery cages. These cages are so small hens don’t have room to spread their wings, perch, nest, or take a dust bath.

More than 260 million hens are kept in extreme confinement systems.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the society, called the action a historic agreement on his blog.

"There’s currently no federal protection for chickens used for food at all, and no protection for any farm animals during production (there’s a federal humane slaughter law only, and even it applies only to mammals and not to birds)," Pacelle said. "With this agreement, I have great hope that may soon change."

The legislation that the society and UEP will work to enact would:

• Require a moratorium at the end of 2011 on new construction of unenrichable battery cages and the nationwide elimination of barren battery cages through a phase-out period.
• Require phased-in construction of new hen housing systems that provide each hen nearly double the amount of space they’re currently provided.
• Require environmental enrichments so birds can engage in important natural behaviors currently denied to them in barren cages, such as perches, nesting boxes, and scratching areas.
• Mandate labeling on all egg cartons nationwide to inform consumers of the method used to produce the eggs, such as "eggs from caged hens" or "eggs from cage-free hens."
• Prohibit forced molting through starvation – an inhumane practice that is inflicted on tens of millions of hens each year and which involves withholding all food from birds for up to two weeks in order to manipulate the laying cycle.
• Prohibit excessive ammonia levels in henhouses – a common problem in the industry that is harmful to both hens and egg industry workers.
• Prohibit the sale of all eggs and egg products nationwide that don’t meet these requirements.

Some of the provisions will be carried out soon after enactment, such as those relating to molting, ammonia, and euthanasia, and others after a few years, including labeling and the requirement that all birds will have to have at least 67 square inches of space each rather than 48, he said.

In exchange, the society will put on hold its efforts to pass ballot measures in Washington and Oregon to halt the use of battery cage confinement in egg production.