Animal Talk with Tammy Ven Dange | May 30

They have the diameter about the size of an A4 sized piece of paper with the height of little more than a ruler. Once the hens are placed inside, they will remain there for the rest of their lives where they are unable to flap or stretch their wings, perch, nest, forage, or dust bathe as they were born to do. They suffer from all sorts of physical and psychological ailments as a result such as brittle bones, and even a condition that leads to liver rupture and death, largely due to stress and lack of exercise. And usually, the cages sit on top of others meaning that they can’t avoid the defecation of the hens above them.

We’re really fortunate that the ACT Government banned the use of these cages in 2014, making it the first jurisdiction in Australia to do so. Three years later, still no other state or territory has adopted similar legislation, placing Australia behind most other progressive nations. In fact, currently there are approximately 16.9 million layer hens nationally with about half of these hens living in battery cages. Producers claim that too many consumers won’t pay for barn laid or free range eggs which is why they continue this practice.

In reality, the overall price difference between cage and cage-free for consumers is minimal, which makes the call to ban battery cages all the more viable. Based on average consumption, switching to cage-free eggs will cost a person approximately $22 a year – a small price to pay to give hens a better life.

In fact, the share of caged egg sales last year fell below 50 percent for the first time despite the cage-egg industry continuing efforts to promote eggs from battery cages. Consumers are showing their concerns and it’s time for national legislators to listen.

For the longest time Australia has had no national standard for what classifies a free range egg, which has confused shoppers and allowed questionable standards of living for some ‘free range’ hens. Last year, legislators determined that ‘free range’ would refer to eggs from hens that have “meaningful and regular” access to an outdoor area and are subject to an outdoor stocking density of 10,000 hens per hectare or less (that’s one hen per square metre). This is in stark contrast with the CSIRO guidelines of only 1,500 hens per hectare which the RSPCA fully supports.  

You can help millions of suffering hens by refusing to buy caged eggs. You can still buy your eggs and eat them too – we just recommend that do so with their welfare in mind. The RSPCA recommends concerned consumers buy high welfare graded food and understand the company of the brand they’re buying from.

We can be the generation that ends the use of battery cages in Australia and ensures the quality of life for the animals in our communities. 

Read more about hen welfare here: www.rspca.org.au/layer-hen-welfare