Rescuing of Spent Battery Hens

I am very much against battery farming of hens and I am pleased that Europe aims to ban battery cages in 2012. However I have just come across a charity which offers the chance of doing something good for battery farmed hens right now.

The Battery Hen Welfare Trust contacts farmers who keep battery hens to find out if they will allow their old hens to be rehomed rather than slaughtered at the end of their working lives. Willing farmers allow battery hens to be collected by the charity once their productive life is over, (when normally they would be sent for slaughter). The hens are given a quick health check and then sent on to new homes where they are able to spend the rest of their lives in a much better environment.

I think this is a really good thing to do and if anybody feels that they could take on some ex-battery hens then they should go to the charity's web site at www.thehenshouse.co.uk

Of course I strongly believe that we should all be supporting farmers who use more welfare friendly methods of farming by only buying free range eggs. However as this charity's website points out a large proportion of the eggs from battery systems are used in processed foods where they are effectively hidden from the public.

It is always a good idea to ask questions about where your food has come from. Not only from an animal welfare point of view but for human health too! One of the main arguments used in support of the battery farm is that the public wants cheap eggs. However we should always be aware that cheap food comes at a high cost for the animals which produce it and often for human health too!