In a coordinated international campaign, Mercy For Animals is calling on Mars—the parent company of Snickers, Milky Way, and M&M’s—to stop sourcing eggs from caged hens in its global supply chain.
In a cage egg-production system, up to 10 hens are crammed into a single cage, each bird spending most of her life on floor space smaller than a notebook-sized sheet of paper. With so little room, some hens are trampled to death by their cagemates.
Hens can’t even spread their wings or walk more than a couple of steps. Such confinement can cause bone brittleness, foot lesions, and fatty liver. By the time they’re slaughtered, about 30 percent of these birds have endured at least one bone fracture.
Many hens become trapped in cage wire or under feed trays. Unable to free themselves or reach food and water, they suffer and die. The remains of birds who die in cages are often left to rot among hens still laying eggs for human consumption.
Hens often peck one another, an expression of the extreme stress brought on by intensive confinement. Instead of addressing this problem by eliminating cages, the egg industry uses “beak trimming.” At the hatchery, chicks have the tips of their beaks seared off with a hot blade or laser and no painkillers. The procedure can lead to chronic pain.
Hens are smart, learn quickly, and have excellent memories. They can recognize the faces of dozens of other birds and communicate with at least 24 distinct vocalizations. They can also empathize with other hens and feel happiness, loneliness, frustration, fear, and pain—just like the dogs and cats who share our homes. They deserve so much better than life in a dismal cage.
Leading food companies around the world, such as the Hershey Company, the Ferrero Group, Nestlé, Unilever, PepsiCo, and Grupo Bimbo, have adopted animal welfare policies to ban cruel cage systems from their global egg supply chains.
Unfortunately, Mars continues to source eggs from caged hens in many countries. It’s time for Mars to establish meaningful cage-free policies for hens in all its operations, including in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
The Open Wing Alliance, an international coalition of animal protection organizations, including Mercy For Animals, has launched a campaign asking Mars to stop sourcing eggs from caged hens in its operations worldwide.
Sign the petition urging Mars to reject eggs from caged hens in its global supply chain!
