Dozens of Mercy For Animals members confronted attendees of the United Egg Producers' (UEP) annual board meeting in downtown Chicago on October 17, 2007. Media coverage from the protest raised awareness to the mutilation and intensive confinement of the nation's 250 million egg-laying hens.

The UEP, a trade agency representing more than 80 percent of egg factories, allows its members to cut off the beaks of baby chicks and cram five-to-six hens in tiny, wire cages so small each bird is given less space than a notebook-size piece of paper. The birds are forced to spend their lives in a cramped position, unable to even stretch their wings, let alone engage in other natural behaviors such as walking, dust bathing, or perching.

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