A COK Report:
Animal Suffering in the Egg Industry

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Conclusion

The egg industry holds that laying hens are humanely raised and truly content in battery cages. An article entitled "Perspective" in Egg Industry magazine stated that "today we have a 252 egg average cycle, and that's ordinary. Can you imagine unhappy chickens laying that many eggs?"(87) However, Dr. Mench says, "It is now generally agreed that good productivity and health are not necessarily indicators of good welfare….[I]ndividual animals may be in a comparatively poor state of welfare even though productivity within the unit may be high."(88) Ken Klippen, spokesperson for the United Egg Producers, stated in a television interview, "The research showed it was humane to have chickens in cages. In fact, they would prefer to be in cages."(89) In fact, no published studies could be found supporting this claim. There is an abundance of research, much of it cited in this report, demonstrating that hens kept in battery cages experience greatly reduced welfare. Indeed, these birds are more intensively confined than any other farmed animal and endure an immense amount of suffering.

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