Why ‘free-range’ eggs are cruel
- Imagine you’re being locked up in a small room your whole life. Then somebody comes along and makes an offer to you to increase the size of the room, however you’re still not allowed to leave the room. Food, water and basic will be provided. This is basically what free-range or cage-free hens are.
- Regardless of how they are treated, once a hen reached a point where she can not produce enough eggs, she will be murdered. So, even a ‘free-range’ egg consumer will contribute to killing. Note that chickens bred and raised for eggs are genetically different from those grown for meat. The ones grown for egg can’t put on weight fast enough for them to be viably raised for meat. So, the demand for eggs is the only reason why the egg-laying hens – in ‘free-range’ hatcheries and elsewhere – are bred into existence, enslaved and finally butchered.
- The male chicks are nothing but financially liabilities to these businesses, and hence, most of them are killed soon after birth in ‘free range’ hatcheries too.
- ‘Free-range’ is just a marketing gimmick to enhance the branding/acceptability.
- Even if the ‘free-range’ chickens’ physical enslavement is slightly less, the birds are still denied the freedom to lead a natural life as per their own consent and wish. We only have to place ourselves in their position for a minute to recognise how agonising such a slave life is for these so-called ‘free-range’ chickens.