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At Animal Justice, we believe every animal deserves to live free from suffering. Our goal is to secure legal protections for animals to ensure they aren\u2019t harmed. However, we also recognize the urgent need to make farmed animals part of the national conversation. We must alleviate the immense suffering caused by cage confinement right now on factory farms across Canada.<\/p>\n
Cage confinement is the most widely criticized practice on modern farms. As a result, \u201ccage-free\u201d egg sourcing commitments are the most widely adopted welfare policy for corporations around the globe. This focus aims to do the most good for the largest number of animals.<\/p>\n
Globally, billions of hens currently spend their entire lives trapped in wire cages. They are unable to spread their wings or feel the ground beneath their feet. We can shift the intensity of this suffering with a single corporate policy or piece of legislation. While banning cages doesn\u2019t stop animal cruelty, it is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\n Banning cages on farms helps:\n <\/p>\n
Campaigns to ban cage confinement are not about endorsing \u201cbetter\u201d forms of cruelty. Instead, they expose the brutal reality of industrial animal agriculture. They can drive incremental, yet significant, changes that reduce the pain and misery of millions of animals.<\/p>\n
Hens in wire cages suffer severe pain, illness, and constant distress. Cage systems<\/a>, whether conventional or \u201cenriched\u201d, severely limit the behavioural freedom of hens. Life in a cage doesn\u2019t allow hens to express natural behaviours that are essential for their well-being, such as nesting, foraging, perching, scratching, wing flapping, and dustbathing.<\/p>\n Cage confinement leads to serious illnesses and injuries<\/a>. These include osteoporosis and bone disorders, bone fractures resulting from brittle bones, and foot disorders such as toe pad hyperkeratosis, painful lesions, and bumblefoot caused by standing on wire flooring. Caged hens often experience frustration and boredom due to overcrowding. This frequently results in abnormal, harmful behaviours like feather pecking and cannibalism.<\/p>\n Even \u201cenriched\u201d cages<\/a> cause significant harm. According to the Welfare Footprint Project<\/a>, hens in enriched cages experience 5,000+ more hours of pain in their lifetime than hens in open barns. A 2021 meta-analysis<\/a> also found that mortality rates decrease when indoor cage-free systems are well-managed, with mortality rates decreasing by 4\u20136 percent over a decade. These systems offer a higher ceiling for improved welfare.<\/p>\n Scientific consensus on this issue has grown significantly across interest groups along with implementation support<\/a> to ensure welfare benefits are maximized. The Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW)<\/a>, an industry-led working group, explicitly states that \u201ccage systems for laying hens\u2026 severely restrict behavioural freedom and prevent hens from expressing highly motivated behaviours\u201d. Likewise, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)<\/a> is clear that cages should no longer be used. The EFSA also advocates for lower stocking densities and natural light, stopping painful mutilations like beak trimming, and adding other welfare monitoring.<\/p>\n \n