Select Page

Cage-Free Eggs Campaign

 

ABOUT THE CAGE-FREE EGGS CAMPAIGN

 

Making cages a thing of the past

Activists join SAFCEI’s call to ban battery cages at the Cape Town Unites for Animals March, March 2017.

Why should hens be cage-free?

Battery cages cause suffering by depriving hens of their most basic needs: nests, perches, and enough space to move around.

The Humane Society reports that, on average, each caged laying hen is afforded less space than a single sheet of A4-sized paper on which to live her entire life. Unable even to spread their wings, caged laying hens are among the most intensively confined animals in agriculture. Numerous scientists and other experts have spoken clearly about these problems with battery cages.

Our campaign calls for the end the use of cages for egg-laying hens. Cage-free systems improve the lives of hens significantly and cause less harm to them and the environment.

SAFCEI is working towards the total eradication of battery cages for laying hens in Southern Africa.  We are requesting all in the food industry to commit to transitioning to cage-free eggs as soon as possible but by no later than 2025.

Activists join SAFCEI’s call to ban battery cages at the Cape Town Unites for Animals March, March 2017.

 

 

The road we’ve travelled so far

In 2016, the South African Poultry Association reported that 80 million hens produced eggs – 96.4% in cages and 3.6% in barns and free-range systems.
On 14th November 2016, McDonald’s South Africa announced that it would implement a cage-free policy when it came to sourcing their eggs, and transition to a 100% cage-free supply chain by 2025. This comes after continued efforts of SAFCEI and other animal welfare organisations to engage McDonald’s South Africa on this.

Frank Molteno SAFCEI chairperson and volunteer said:

“SAFCEI welcomes McDonald’s announcement with thankfulness. We congratulate McDonald’s on realising that this is the way of the future as more and more people of faith grasp that compassion can know no bounds because we all – all creatures – have the same source.”

At the same time, we are mindful of the terror, pain and suffering of the hens who will continue to lay McDonald’s’ eggs over the next 8 or 9 years as per McDonald’s’ timeline. Having ‘under-promised’ on the pace at which they can make the transition to cage-free eggs, we encourage McDonald’s to ‘over-deliver’ and beat their target of 2025 by as many years as possible.”

Globally, cage-free pledges from around 100 companies are going to spare about 60 million hens annually from battery cage confinement, and we are committed to saving more.

We wouldn’t be able to help build this movement for animals without the help of dedicated activists like our Fast Action Network (FAN). The FAN is a group of dedicated online activists who spend only a few minutes of their time each week, to help SAFCEI campaign for the welfare of animals.

Activists join SAFCEI’s call to ban battery cages at the Cape Town Unites for Animals March, March 2017

Latest News

Latest Blogs

The Cage

The Cage

by | Sep 30, 2020 | Blog, Cage Free Blogs

The Cage How caged hens are living lives of pain and suffering to produce our eggs.   By Georgina Blumears   To begin, I want to commend you on taking the time to read this blog post. During this time of pandemic and environmental challenges, the welfare of...

Campaign Announcements

 

PROGRESS TRACKER

 

Major companies around the world are changing the way chickens are treated. Track their progress on chickenwatch.org.

Join our fast action network of animal welfare activists

Join the group

Subscribe to our mailing list

Subscribe
Print Friendly, PDF & Email