Hidden camera reveals ‘free range’ hens that supply the Happy Egg Company crammed into overcrowded sheds ‘miserable, bleeding’ and ‘surrounded by rotting dead birds’
- Animals rights group PETA said they found ‘miserable’ and ‘bleeding’ birds
- The Happy Egg Company shows an image of cheerful hens on its packaging
- Secret recording shows thousands of hens packed into filthy and dark sheds
A hidden camera has revealed the living conditions of thousands of ‘free range’ hens at sites across the UK.
Animal rights group PETA said they found the Happy Egg Company birds ‘miserable, bleeding, decomposing or dead’ when investigators recently visited three farms.
The secretly recorded footage shows thousands of hens packed into filthy and dark sheds that were so overcrowded that birds had pecked one another through stress.
Campaigners said some of the company’s so-called ‘happy hens’ had died and their corpses were left to rot among living birds at the sites.
Animal rights group PETA said they found the Happy Egg Company birds ‘miserable, bleeding, decomposing or dead’ when investigators recently visited three farms
The secretly recorded footage shows thousands of hens packed into filthy and dark sheds that were so overcrowded that birds had pecked one another through stress
PETA has now complained to the UK’s advertising watchdog that the firm was ‘misleading consumers’ in showing pictures of birds in lush open fields of green grass.
Many UK supermarkets including Lidl, Tesco and Sainsbury’s, stock and sell Happy Egg Company eggs.
The footage is said to have been filmed at three farms in Cumbria, Gloucestershire and Hereford, which all supply eggs to the business.
The shocking video appears to show balding hens covered in bloody wounds and activists say the sheds were piled high with faeces.
PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner said: ‘Happy Egg Co is duping well-intentioned consumers into paying a premium for eggs produced by hens who they are told are “happy”.
‘But the chickens we saw face much the same filth, misery, and death as those on any other egg factory farm.
‘PETA is urging everyone not to be duped – the only cruelty-free label is vegan.’
Many UK supermarkets including Lidl , Tesco and Sainsbury’s, stock and sell Happy Egg Company eggs. Its packaging depicts a cheerful bird
PETA has now complained to the UK’s advertising watchdog that the firm was ‘misleading consumers’ in showing pictures of birds in lush open fields of green grass
The shocking video appears to show balding hens covered in bloody wounds and activists say the sheds were piled high with faeces
University of Winchester Veterinary Professor of Animal Welfare Andrew Knight said: ‘The footage obtained by PETA shows chickens packed into industrial sheds with very little in the way of enrichment.
‘Despite evidence that the chickens’ beaks have been trimmed, it appears that feather pecking – suggestive of stress and frustration – is still going on.
‘It’s hard to imagine that these chickens are happy.’
A PETA spokesperson added: ‘Even so-called “free-range” or “organic” egg farms restrict chickens’ natural behaviour, like foraging, exploring, taking dust baths, and roosting.
Live chickens existed alongside decaying corpses (pictured) at the farms in the UK
‘When the birds’ worn-out bodies can no longer produce enough eggs to be profitable, they’re sent to slaughter, often to be turned into ‘low-grade’ meat because their flesh is so bruised and battered.
‘Cramming animals together on overcrowded, faeces-ridden factory farms also creates breeding grounds for deadly pathogens like the novel coronavirus and bird flu – an outbreak of which the UK is currently enduring.
‘PETA further notes that diets heavy in cholesterol and saturated fat, both of which are found in eggs, can increase a person’s risk of falling victim to many of the UK’s top killers, including heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes.’
The Happy Egg Company told MailOnline: ‘Maintaining the highest animal welfare standards is extremely important to us and we took immediate action when we were made aware of the existence of the video by the RSPCA after they were approached by PETA.
‘Each of the farms underwent independent, rigorous inspection by the RSPCA and all have been cleared, having the compulsory standards in place.
‘We routinely audit farms to ensure that they conform to all UK industry standards and we conducted additional inspections as a result of the video to ensure that the farms were fully compliant.
‘Nothing is more important to us than the safe and proper care of our hens.’
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