Breaking Investigation: India’s Egg Industry

Between July and September 2023, Animal Equality’s investigators filmed 19 egg farms across India. In the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, they found:

• Four to eight hens confined in cages no larger than two sheets of paper, trampling each other as they attempt to search for space.
• Hens with sore, cracked, and deformed claws from standing on wire cage floors.
• Feces collected in piles underneath rows of stacked cages, where it remained for weeks at a time.
• Hens with feather loss and injuries from rubbing against the wire cages and ammonia build-up from the waste piles beneath them.
• Hens left to die slow, agonizing deaths without medical care.

Illegal Animal Cruelty Under Fire in India

Animal Equality has completed three investigations on egg farms in India. The first investigation, done in 2017, found rampant, illegal cruelty. Animal Equality reported this to the government and suggested a transition away from cages. Instead, the government required egg farms to use slightly larger cages.

However, even these larger cages severely restrict hens’ movement and impact their quality of life. By causing stress and sickness for hens, the egg industry has violated a Supreme Court order that requires businesses to provide the “Five Freedoms” for all animals.

Recent polls have found that the majority of Indian citizens believe the government should enact stronger laws to protect farmed animals. Demand for cage-free eggs is growing, yet 80% of eggs on the market still come from caged hens.

To show that cage-free systems are possible, Animal Equality in India points to the recent banning of cages in Europe. Experts also calculate that the cost of transitioning to cage-free farming in India would be marginal, even calling on the government to help farmers with the transition.

Many food companies have started sourcing eggs from cage-free farms, and some egg producers have also started expanding their cage-free facilities. This proves that this initiative is here to stay. Now, we only hope the government will also support this initiative by phasing out cages.

Amruta Ubale, Executive Director of Animal Equality in India

Join the Fight Against Cages

Here in the United States, hens are still confined in battery cages that cause injury, illness, and death before slaughter. These cages are no larger than one piece of paper. Millions of Americans oppose this cruelty and have taken the most effective action for caged hens by leaving eggs off their plates.

Many have even joined the Love Veg movement, which helps consumers transition toward plant-based proteins. Find out how you can replace meat, dairy, and eggs with delicious, compassionate foods by joining them today.

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