(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
The egg industry means that around 2,5 million roosters are killed every day as day-olds by being ground alive. The chickens go to egg production, but their fate is not necessarily better.
Anyone who has seen a ragged, worn and broken cage hen take his first wobbly steps on the ground, understands what cage life does to the hens. They stand in a noisy factory environment on sloping mesh floors, each with an area equivalent to an A4 sheet, without ever seeing the sky. Lack of outlet for natural behavior can lead to compulsive behavior such as feather plucking and cannibalism, and the intense laying gives rise to painful disorders such as fallopian tube inflammation and osteoporosis. After a year and a half, they are gassed in containers or sent for slaughter.
Floor management is also problematic when several thousand hens are kept on a limited area, and only organic farming ensures the hens nightlife part of the year. But development away from cage drift will be a step in the right direction – towards conditions that at least give the hens the opportunity to move freely and stretch their wings.
The Minister of Agriculture does not want the marking of cage eggs or a ban on cage farming. But Rema 1000 and Norgesgruppen say no to cage eggs, and ultimately it is the consumers who have the decisive word and who can steer the development away from the cage disorders, and eventually towards conditions that take more account of the hens as individuals with complex feelings and needs. As consumers, we have great power – let's use it to give animals a better life.