And all the result of the unjustifiable exploitation of the reproductive systems of hens! Some quick facts in light of the tags claiming that buying hens eggs of “local” farmers (or even backyard hen exploiters) should be supported:
~ Even when it comes to the tiny number of hens exploited for their eggs who aren’t kept in either cages or sheds where access to the outside is extremely limited or non existent. Its important to remember that chickens originate from, and still naturally inhabit, tropical rainforests where they have evolved “happily” for millions of years. Their brains, behaviours and natural instincts have been shaped by this. So the environment a “pasture raised” or “backyard egg” hen is kept in to be exploited for their reproductive systems is still an artificial, foreign environment in which chickens feel vulnerable and exposed to predators, and these chickens frequently exhibit heightened cortisol levels (a stress hormone) and many other signs of distress. It also often places them in harms way and breaks up their natural social order.
~ Most hens, even backyard egg hens, are purchased from hatcheries that supply the meat and egg industries. These hatcheries also practice cruelties such as murdering baby male chicks on mass. So the very act of buying an egg from these places is paying for the mass slaughter of day old male chicks. Which is deeply unethical.
~ Egg laying hens from even the most local, small time “free range” farms are still brutally murdered when their egg production drops. Farms simply cannot be economically viable otherwise. And typically, this is around 72 weeks old. And of course, the vast majority of farmed hens end up being murdered far before their natural lifespan.
~ And when it comes to the slaughter process itself, many hens regain consciousness after stunning and before they die (they have been shown to recover consciousness after as little as 22 seconds) which means that they are still conscious when having their throats slit. As a result, a large amount of these hens are also still alive when they are submerged in scalding water tanks which remove their feathers pre butchering. Buy buying eggs, you are paying for the brutal murder of “spent” egg laying hens as well as baby male chicks.
~ Past post on the selective breeding of egg laying hens
~ Pasture Raised Eggs: the Humane, Sustainable Fiction
~ Examining welfare claims on egg labels
~ What Contemporary Studies of Fowl Mean for Science and Ethics
~ Land of hope and glory (a documentary set in the UK)
~ Dominion (another documentary set in Australia)
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