PETA Agrees with Trump: Cage-free is not Cruelty-Free

For Immediate Release:
February 24, 2026

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

In a surprise move, just as a federal court considers the Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging California’s “cage‑free” egg laws, PETA has sent Judge Mark C. Scarsi its newly released white paper revealing that “cage‑free” egg systems—which the laws protect—do surprisingly little to improve hen welfare and, in some cases, can even cause more suffering, while duping conscientious consumers into paying higher prices for eggs labeled and marketed as more humane. PETA also points to the availability of brands of vegan eggs, such as Just Egg and WunderEgg, that provide genuinely humane options for the consumer while providing marketing opportunities for American companies. PETA is not a party to the case, and hopes that Prop 12 survives solely to avoid legal precedence that could harm other laws that promote genuinely humane practices.

PETA’s white paper reveals that feather pecking, fighting, and cannibalism are more common in cage-free systems due to frustrated hens being packed in barns by the thousands and competing for food, water, and nests. 85–97% of cage-free hens suffer painful keel bone (sternum) fractures and impaired mobility from the strain of constant egg-laying and collisions or falls, and they’re more likely to suffer from chronic respiratory infections and skin lesions due to litter soaked with feces burning their feet and legs, often causing infections, and ammonia-saturated dust burning their lungs and eyes, even leading to blindness. Since hens have only 1 to 1.5 square feet of floor space each, they can suffocate under one another (crowd crush).

“The ‘cage‑free’ label is a fiction that keeps hens suffering while consumers pay a premium,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “Real free enterprise rewards innovation—not misleading marketing.”

The global vegan egg market reached $1.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $4.5 billion by 2030 despite a lack of government assistance and promotion. Chickens form complex social structures, dream when they sleep, and worry about the future, just as humans do, and PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.