Target: Murray Watt, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Goal: Replace all battery cages with more humane living spaces for hens.
Hens have been targeted for culling in recent years, but the greatest threat to them is arguably in their everyday lives. The world is increasingly recognizing how detrimental battery cages are to egg-laying hens. These cramped quarters prevent hens from natural movement, create deplorably unsanitary and unsafe conditions, and subject these living beings to the most inhumane of existences. A large number of countries, including most of Europe, have banned these threats to animal welfare. New Zealand made its own ban fully official this year. Now a close-by country needs to do the same.
Australia has unofficially vowed to ban production of battery-farmed eggs. The problem: they have set 2036 as the phase-out date. This far-off time puts the continent decades behind other regions and leaves countless animals vulnerable to continued exploitation. Plus, Australia may make the ill-advised decision to transition to colony cages, which are larger but still expose hens to inhumane treatment.
Sign the petition below to urge Australia’s leadership to ramp up and speed up its commitment to animal welfare.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Minister Watt,
Many nations began phasing out battery cages and battery-farmed eggs over a decade ago. These bans have become more commonplace as an increasingly conscientious public calls for enhanced animal welfare standards in the agriculture sector. While Australia has also made this commitment, the projected date for a phase-out—2036—will subject too many hens to lives full of misery and pain. When a wrong is identified, it should not take decades to rectify.
Please honor the calls from the majority of your citizenry for more rapid action. Moreover, as this phase-out begins, listen to experts who warn about the dangers of proposed alternatives such as colony cages. We cannot trade one form of inhumanity for another.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Alison Burrell
