October 13, 2005 - Egg Production Exposé
How would you like to be crammed in a cage with 4 others for a year, have your lips cut off, be covered in excrement, never stretch your arms or legs, never see natural daylight, and then, after 12-18 months, have your throat slit. That is what life is like for over 90% of Canada's egg-laying hens.
See for yourself.
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(Note: There are 20 seconds of blackness at the start of the video)
A battery egg "farm" is not a pretty sight. The reality is quite different from most people's expectation of a farm.
This photo was taken undercover at a farm in the Guelph, Ontario area belonging to LEL Farms and owned by a veterinarian with connections to the University of Guelph. The pictures show birds covered in excrement and crammed into cages so small they can barely move.
In battery cages, there is no space for hens to flap or stretch their wings. When they try, their wings sometimes become trapped in the bars of the cage. Vertical space is limited and hens are often unable to stand up fully and raise their heads without hitting the bars of the cage.
Their beaks are sliced off with a laser or hot blade to prevent pecking at other birds.
The birds are clearly suffering from extreme feather loss, and you will even see some escaped birds left to languish on a pile of manure three feet deep.
Changing your purchasing habits will help change these farming habits. Buy certified organic eggs or choose egg-free alternatives.
