*The visuals on this website represent the suffering that chickens experience in cage systems.

A Hidden Nightmare

The terrible reality hens endure in the egg industry

Imagine spending nearly your entire life standing in a cubicle without the freedom to even take a few steps or stretch. The floor is made of harsh metal wire that digs into your bare feet.

You can’t leave and be close to family; instead, nine strangers are crammed in with you, taking nearly all of your already limited space. Sometimes you attack one another, but you do no harm, as body parts that could cause injury have been cut or burned off you.

Imagine that no matter how much you want to escape, there is no way out. You’re condemned to life in overcrowded, extreme confinement.

What did you do to deserve this cruelty?

You came into this world a member of a species other than human.

Over four billion birds, more than 80% of the global laying hen population, are confined in cages. In North America, roughly 200 million hens suffer in cages, while more than 2.6 billion—the largest portion—are caged in Asia. South America confines about 300 million and Africa an estimated 200 million. Despite progress in Europe and Oceania, these regions confine another 120 million and 10 to 12 million, respectively. The global scale of the problem is staggering—and the need for meaningful change is urgent. That’s why we’re calling on companies to take responsibility—and commit to ending the cruel caging of hens across their global egg supply chains.

Take Action

Are you aware of how hens are raised to produce most of the eggs sold in supermarkets?

Here’s the truth:

Extreme Confinement
Most hens in the egg industry—more than 80%—suffer nearly their entire lives in overcrowded wire cages. On average, five to 10 hens are confined to a single cage. Each bird’s floor space is no more than the area of a standard sheet of paper.
Natural Behaviors
In cruel cage confinement, hens cannot express natural behaviors essential to their welfare. They cannot walk, spread their wings, stretch, nest, forage, or explore. No living being should ever face such torment.
Health Problems
Without space to move, caged hens are forced to endure painful health problems, such as bone loss and fractures, foot injuries, abnormal skin growths and lesions, and even liver disease.
Beak “Trimming”
To reduce injuries and deaths, hens commonly undergo partial amputation of the beak—often performed without anesthesia. This painful procedure impairs feeding and disrupts critical functions, such as removal of parasites that infest the birds’ skin.
The Cages
Cages are typically arranged in rows and stacked several tiers high; birds endure the drip of excrement on them from the cages above. Trapped behind bars, hens spend nearly a lifetime in filthy, crowded conditions and in chronic pain, solely to be exploited for eggs.
Extreme Stress
Chronic stress, combined with limited space, can cause hens to engage in harmful behaviors, such as compulsive feather plucking and even cannibalism.

The Immediate Solution: Ban Cages Now

More than four billion laying hens worldwide are estimated to be confined in cages by the egg industry. This sobering reality underscores the urgent need for food companies to publicly commit to ending the use of cages in their egg supply chains.

Globally, around 2,500 companies have already taken this crucial step. This growing movement has gained momentum in recent decades across many countries. The time to ban cages altogether—once and for all—is now.

Cage-Free Trends Falling Far Short

Despite a global shift from cages and consumer demand for cage-free, many companies around the world are falling behind in ending one of the worst causes of suffering for hens in the egg industry.

Percentage of hens confined in cages by the egg industry:
75% Asia
55% USA
83% Canada
64% South America
38% Europe

Take Action!

Transforming egg supply chains starts with corporate accountability. It is critical that companies take a public stand against the cage confinement of millions of hens. When companies stop sourcing cage eggs, the industry is forced to change. Thousands of companies worldwide have already committed to going cage-free and are making steady progress toward fully cage-free transitions. Yet the companies listed below have failed to take action.

The good news? Companies that are part of the problem today can become part of the solution tomorrow. Let’s urge these companies to adopt cage-free policies across their entire egg supply chains—without delay. Use your power as a consumer.

Click the buttons below to send a message to each company, calling on them to commit to a cage-free future.

Take Action!

Copie a mensagem e envie para os canais abaixo.

Thank you so much for your help. Together, we will keep fighting for a world where animals are respected, protected, and free. Other ways to help:

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As a consumer, one of the most powerful ways you can help hens is to leave eggs off your plate.