European Union vs. Battery Cages

Thanks to the quick action taken by more than 5,000 PETA U.K. supporters, the European Union (E.U.) has just rejected Poland's proposal to delay a historic ban on battery cages for hens! In 1999, the E.U. passed the Laying Hens Directive—legislation that requires an end to the use of battery cages by 2012. Polish officials lobbied to delay the ban until 2017, but thanks to everyone in Europe who took the time to write to the U.K.'s minister of state for farming and the environment, Jim Fitzpatrick, the E.U. will stand by its original plan to ditch the cruel contraptions.

Aleutia / CC by 2.0

The production of a single egg means 34 hours of suffering for a hen. In the E.U., 300 million hens are crammed into filthy wire-mesh battery cages stacked tier upon tier in huge warehouses. The birds are packed into the cages so tightly that they are unable to spread even one wing, and they suffer crippling leg injuries from standing on wire cage floors 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When they get too old to lay eggs, they're thrown into transport crates and shipped to slaughter. Battery cages deny every one of a hen's natural instincts, including nesting, perching, scratching, and pecking.

You can help end hens' suffering by taking the pledge to be vegan today.

Written by Logan Scherer