[Infoshop News]

"There will be no justice as long as man will stand with a knife or with a gun and destroy those who are weaker than he is." - Isaac Bashevis . [1]

The average egg production facilities can house upwards of a million birds, which poses a problem when it comes to space.

In order to maximise space and provide efficient production, the cages themselves are stacked like steps, one on top of the other. The only advantage the hens on the top row have is that they do not receive a steady rain of faeces. Although most of the faeces fall into a pit below the cages, many hens were found to be in an unsanitary condition.

Since the hens are kept at seven per cage, it becomes difficult for them to manoeuvre, let alone perform their natural function, which is to produce eggs. But this issue is one of several that are worrisome.

The claustrophobic environment, lack of sunlight and dirty conditions have a Washington, D.C. based organisation in a race to provide a better environment for the hens.

Compassion Over Killing, a non-profit organisation founded in 1995, works primarily to investigate and expose abuses of the meat, egg, and dairy industries. Farm animals are the major focus for COK, but since fowl make up more than 95% of the farm livestock eaten in the U.S., there is generally a stronger focus on egg industry.

Not all of the poultry are egg-laying hens, however. Most are broiler chickens that are used for consumption. There are about 280 million egg-laying hens, as compared to the staggering 9 billion broiler chickens or more, slaughtered annually in the U.S.

Featured in over a hundred media outlets, including Fox News, New York Times, and The Washington Post, COK has managed to expose three major egg farms: ISE-America, County Fair Farms, and Red Bird Egg Farms in the last two years alone.

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full story:
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20061129092818138