A petition calling for Tesco to end the sale of caged hens has gathered wide attention, with more than 75,000 signatures. The petition, started by a 14 year old schoolgirl from Sheffield, has been campaigning for the ban for several years.
After several unsuccessful attempts to gather any attention, Lucy Gavaghan took to Change.org to broadcast her plea.
Lucy keeps five of her own hens, two of them are ex-commercial barn hens and one of them once lived in commercial colony cages.
"I found out that Tesco is one of the few supermarkets that still sell eggs from caged and barn kept hens. After trying to end this through my own letter writing I have come to find that the written opinions of one person creates little impact on a company like Tesco. However I believe that with the help of like-minded people on social media, we can make Tesco listen and create an impact.
Food production affects everyone. Very few of us, however, know the truth behind the processes that leads to the food sold in our stores. A prime example of this is the egg productions industry. Lots of eggs sold to us in stores come from hens kept in barns and "enriched cages". The conditions in these "enriched cages" are cramped and very restrictive.
The hens never see the light of day or get to experience a natural lifestyle. The welfare conditions in barns are similar. Per hen, the space available in a commercial barn is virtually the same as in the "enriched" cages-- often they can barely move or stretch their wings. In addition, the hens never get to experience the real outside world. Which I believe is an essential element for a hen to live a happy and healthy life."
Companies such as Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencers and Waitrose stopped selling eggs from caged hens. Recently Mcdonald’s UK responded to a petition and agreed to stop using eggs from caged and barn kept hens.
