The United Egg Producers (UEP) and The Humane Society of the United
States (HSUS) have agreed to support the first federal legislation in
U.S. history that would protect farmed birds. UEP, the trade group in
charge of defending the worst of the worst abuses of farmed animals, has
agreed to work with HSUS in a proposed legislation that would include
the following:
- A moratorium at the end of 2011 on new construction of unenrichable
battery cages—small, cramped, cages that nearly immobilize more than 90
percent of laying hens today—and the nationwide elimination of barren
battery cages through a phase-out period;
- A 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;
- A 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”;
- A prohibition on 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;
- A prohibition on excessive ammonia levels in henhouses, a common
problem in the industry that is harmful to both hens and egg industry
workers; and
- A prohibition on the sale of all eggs and egg products nationwide
that don’t meet these requirements.
To read more about this fantastic news, please search online for
Breaking News: Landmark Agreement to Help
Millions of Hens
This is good news for God’s Creation! Alleviating the pain and
suffering of God’s farmed animals will indeed help bring healing and
reconciliation, and also hopefully more awareness to the fact that
billions of God’s creatures are legally imprisoned and exploited every
year for profit and taste, a fact that should appall every Christian.
Your question and comments are welcome
