Egg industry should
end cruelty practices

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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It's too bad that the factory farms replacing smaller, family-run operations have left people with little to celebrate regarding eggs ("Egg fest begins Monday," July 14).

In Maine and across the country, factory egg farms confine nearly 300 million hens in deplorable conditions. These intelligent, social animals spend their entire lives crammed into wire cages so restrictive, they cannot perch, dust bathe, walk, or even spread their wings. Inside massive, ammonia-filled sheds, their lives are filled with suffering.

The egg industry could give hens--and people who support local communities and oppose animal cruelty--something to celebrate by ending its cruel confinement of hens in battery cages.

Erin Williams

Outreach Coordinator, Factory Farming Campaign

The Humane Society

of the United States

Washington, D.C.

ewilliams@hsus.org