Currently, chickens on factory farms are packed into small
wire battery cages about the size of third of a sheet of paper their entire
lives. They are denied everything
natural to them.
Luckily, Egg Products Inspection Act Amendments of 2012
(H.R. 3798) was just introduced in Congress.
The bill would force egg producers to switch to colony housing that will
provide egg-laying hens with twice the amount of room they currently have. Or, they can switch to cage-free
housing.
This proposed legislation would also ensure egg-laying hens receive environmental enrichment such as perches, nesting boxes, etc. that will replicate a more
natural environment for them. It will also
ban forced molting in which hens are deprived food and water to shock their
systems into producing an additional egg-laying cycle. It will also mandate that there not be excessive ammonia levels to improve their air quality.
This bill would not only mean a better life for hens, but it
will mean safer eggs for consumption. Please contact your federal senators and representative at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to co-sponsor this common sense legislation. Or, if you're short on time, you can send Congress a quick message.
