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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.
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.
Why should hens be cage-free?
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, past SAFCEI Board Chair 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.”
In 2019, there were two major victories for SAFCEI and the cage-free movement. After a campaign against the City Lodge Hotel Group (CLHG), they publicly announced a commitment to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs (shell, liquid, and ingredient) in all their hotels on the African continent by the end of 2025. The next giant to topple was Hotel Verde with operations in Cape Town (South Africa) and Zanzibar (Tanzania). After months of dialogue and two days of campaigning, they have committed to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs throughout their operations by 2025. Hotel Verde has also committed to report annually on their progress.
SAFCEI is encouraged by the unwavering determination from our many supporters who have helped to make this happen. We thank both Hotel Verde and the City Lodge Hotel Group for taking us a step closer to end the use of battery cages for hens in South Africa.
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.
Activists join SAFCEI’s call to ban battery cages at the Cape Town Unites for Animals March, March 2017
Latest News
Cage-Free SA: Sign up to our Earthkeeper Fast Action Network
Your voice could play a critical role in bringing an end to cruel battery caged systems, improving hen welfare, and in turn improving the health of people and our environment. Sign up to our Earthkeeper Fast Action Network here http://bit.ly/cagefreeSA ...
Tell Yum! Brands to go cage-free globally
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Tell Hard Rock to go cage-free globally
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Latest Blogs
The Cage
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...
The first pandemic: Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
How unchecked poultry factory farming methods can lead to a new and deadlier bird flu pandemic. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has ignited widespread awareness of zoonotic (spread from animal to human) diseases and the pace in which an outbreak in the Chinese...
2020 Global Summit to End Cages
By Georgina Blumears Cage-Free Eggs Campaign Coordinator 2020 Global Summit to End Cages “The Global Summit to End Cages is a unique opportunity to meet and learn from other activists from all areas and experience levels. The summit...
Cage-Free committments
Breaking news: Restaurant Brands International announces global-cage free commitment
In a historic win for layer hens, the fast-food conglomerate that includes Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons—have released comprehensive global cage-free policies. The new global policy released by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) commits each brand to...
Hotel Verde to go cage-free by 2025
After running a week-long public campaign, Hotel Verde, with operations in Cape Town and Zanzibar, has committed to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs throughout their operations by 2025. They have also committed to annually publicly report on their progress in this regard....
Wyndham announces international cage-free policy
On 20th September, Wyndham Destinations and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts both published a strong global cage-free commitment online following a public campaign by the Open Wing Alliance (OWA), a coalition of 70 major animal protection organisations. In these policies,...
Best Western commits to going cage-free by 2025
Update on the global cage-free campaign against Best Western: On 8th May, SAFCEI joined 62 major animal protection organisations from around the world in launching a campaign against Best Western International Inc. (Best Western) and Hilton Worldwide (Hilton)...
Marriott International to go Cage-Free by 2025
In less than 48 hours of the Open Wing Alliance campaign launch, Marriott Hotels, the world's *largest* hotel group, has committed to dropping battery cages for egg-laying hens WORLDWIDE! See Marriott International's public commitment here. Read more about our...
Famous Brands to go Cage-Free by 2025
Press: Read our press release here. iAfrica – 5 November 2018 Farmer’s Weekly – 2 November IOL & Cape Argus – 28 September 2018 Citizen – 28 September 2018 GroundUp – 27 September 2018 Listen to The Money Show clip below to hear Darren Hele's interview with Bruce...
PROGRESS TRACKER
Major companies around the world are changing the way chickens are treated. Track their progress on chickenwatch.org.
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