Animal Cruelty Exposed

Investigation and Open Rescue at an Egg Factory Farm

After COK's 2002 investigation at Red Bird Egg Farm in Millington, Maryland, the United Egg Producers deemed the factory farm an "Animal Care Certified" facility.

What did that mean for hundreds of thousands of hens overcrowded into tiny "battery cages" stacked atop each other and extending down the massive sheds?

As our investigators found in 2004, the conditions permitted under the so-called "Animal Care Certified" guidelines could never be considered good animal care.

From Our Investigators

Our investigators documented the living and dying conditions of birds trapped in cages so small they could not flap their wings or even move without touching another bird. Hundreds of photos and several hours of video clearly showed the cruelty of modern egg production:

• Nearly featherless hens
  
• Hens with eye infections, cysts, and open wounds
  
• Hens trapped in cage wires, unable to free themselves and left to die of dehydration or strangulation
  
• Decomposing bodies of hens left in cages with live birds

Our investigators left Red Bird Egg Farm on their final night of documenting by openly rescuing four hens and providing them with veterinary care, baths, and safe and loving homes. In the first hours of freedom, one by one, the hens flapped their wings, scratched at the dirt, basked in the sun, and walked through the grass, feeling the sun on their backs. For the first time, they were allowed to be chickens, instead of egg-producing machines.

We can all help hens simply by leaving their eggs out of our shopping carts. Visit EggScam.com to learn more.

From the News Media: An Excerpt

Washington, D.C.'s ABC affiliate, WJLA-7, aired an I-Team exclusive, "Egg Fraud," on our investigation during its 5:00 p.m. news program on July 15, 2004: "85 percent of the nation's egg producers now use the 'Animal Care Certified' logo. That means they agree to some basic standards for animal care. But, videotape of a Maryland egg farm obtained by the I-Team reveals some of the conditions that are allowed under these guidelines. Conditions that may shock some consumers... . Among the images captured on tape: a dead hen—[her] carcass knocking eggs off a conveyer belt. Other chickens appear sick or injured, and there are even some dead birds, still caged, among the living. Heaps of chicken manure are just steps away from a pile of dead birds inside a vast hen house... ."

From the Egg Industry: A Flip-Flop

After WJLA-7 showed United Egg Producers' Ken Klippen our footage, the industry spokesperson said: "That is appalling....They do not look like healthy birds. They're missing feathers. Their abdomens look swollen. They look dirty. That is not a good production facility."

Just one day later, Mr. Klippen said: "This is a well-run egg production facility. I'm happy to say this is part of the United Egg Producers animal care certified program. They're doing a good job and they deserve the credit."

Read the entire transcript and watch WJLA's eVideo.

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