October 31, 2005 - Superstore Tries to have Chicken Arrested

 

Four police officers arrive to remove one Hallowe’en chicken

 

(Vancouver) The Vancouver Humane Society’s mascot Henny, the six-foot escaped battery hen, was once again the centre of controversy as the Real Canadian Superstore on SE Marine Drive tried to have her arrested today as she walked on the sidewalk outside the store. Dressed as a mummy and out to educate the public on the welfare of egg laying hens, Henny was questioned by four police officers before being released.

 

“Being Hallowe’en, having two police ‘ghost cars’ arrive to arrest Henny, who was dressed as a mummy, was somewhat amusing,” said Bruce Passmore VHS’s Farm Animal Welfare Project Coordinator. “But the fact she was being hassled for holding a sign on public property while educating the public on the plight of battery (egg-laying) hens, was really quite disturbing.”

 

The VHS and the Canadian Coalition for Farm Animals recently released a video exposing the hideous cruelty that is commonplace on modern eggs farms (www.humanefood.ca). The groups are asking Loblaw Canada, the parent company of the Real Canadian Superstore and the largest grocery retailer in the country, to use in-store labelling for all eggs from battery caged hens, and to increase the cage-free egg options to at least 50 percent.

 

“This Hallowe’en turned out to be a little scarier for Henny than she expected,” continued Passmore, “but compared to the horror Canada’s 26 million egg laying hens endure everyday, this was nothing. Most consumers don’t want to support this horror either, so we are trying to educate them on the more humane alternatives that are available.”