Revealing Brazil’s Dark Secret: Egg Industry’s Cruelty Exposed
Animal Equality Brazil's recent investigation has revealed the systemic cruelty endured by hens in factory farming. Our team targeted four hen farms and one slaughterhouse in São Paulo, the country’s largest egg-producing state.
Hens in the egg industry were revealed to lay an unnatural 280 eggs each year. Male chicks are ground up alive shortly after birth, deemed unprofitable because they cannot lay eggs. Inside the slaughterhouse, hens endure harsh conditions, being hung upside down, electrocuted, and having their throats slit while conscious.
➡ Discover more about the investigation findings: (insert News article)
Hens are intelligent and social animals who naturally live about 8 years, but when confined in cages on farms like this one, they live an average of a year and a half. They deserve to live a life full of companionship and love, and one free from suffering. By embracing cruelty-free alternatives such as plant-based mayo and egg replacers, we can show compassion and refrain from contributing to their suffering: LoveVeg.com!
*CHAPTERS*
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0:00 - Introduction
0:27 - Confined Inside Tiny Cages
1:38 - Feather Loss and Cannibalism
2:12 - Dead Hens Found in Piles
2:38 - Transport to Slaughterhouse
2:54 - Bones of Hens Broken
3:20 - Electrocution Bath
3:36 - Throats Slit
4:26 - Love Veg Movement
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Animal Equality is an international animal protection organization working in eight countries to end cruelty to farmed animals through undercover investigations, legal advocacy, corporate outreach, and public awareness about plant-based foods.
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Transcript (English — en)
At first glance, the egg and meat
industries might seem worlds apart.
But Animal Equality's
latest investigation in Brazil shows
there's much more behind a carton of eggs
than meets the eye.
In Brazil's major egg-producing
state of São Paolo,
we investigated four hen farms
and one slaughterhouse.
What we discovered were animals in extreme
distress. Confined inside tiny cages,
hens live in a space
the size of a sheet of notebook paper.
They are unable to spread their wings
or walk more than a few steps.
They cannot scratch, perch, build nests,
bathe in the sand,
or enjoy any natural behaviors
throughout their entire lives.
They won't feel the warm
sun on their face
or the soft grass under their feet.
Instead,
they will live in a dark and windowless
shed, standing on hard wires
that cut their feet.
In the United States,
nearly 75% of hens used for egg
production are forced to live
inside the same kind of cage.
Ten states have restricted
the use of these cages because of the harm
they cause.
All of the birds in these farms
are female.
Their male siblings were ground up alive
while conscious shortly after birth,
as they don't lay eggs or grow
large enough to be killed
for their meat. Within one day of life,
the females have their sensitive beaks
mutilated without any pain medication.
Then, they are immediately
confined inside cages
with a dozen other hens. During their life,
the high level of stress leads
to feather loss and cannibalism.
Their bodies are covered in wounds.
They are infested with parasites
and suffer from diseases.
In many instances,
the hen's egg canal is severely inflamed,
but she still has to lay eggs.
Normally, a
hen produces 10 to 15 eggs per year.
But on farms like these,
they produce around 280 eggs
every year
due to intense genetic selection.
This is completely unnatural.
On this farm,
dead hens are found in piles.
Dying animals are so common
that removing them has become
a main daily
task of farm workers. In nature,
a hen lives about eight years. On farms
like this one,
they live an average of a year and a half.
When a hen begins to produce fewer eggs
and can no longer meet demand,
she is sent to the slaughterhouse
and killed for her meat.
Investigators film hens who are still
laying eggs on the way to slaughter.
Many others die during transport due to
exhaustion caused by stressful conditions.
Inside the slaughterhouse, the hens are
hung upside down by their feet.
Workers shove the animals into shackles.
The bones of the hens
break from the force.
The constant production of
calcium-rich eggs
deplete their bones of the nutrient,
and they become very fragile.
Many of the animals
already have broken bones from transport
and suffer more injuries
inside the slaughterhouse.
This hen has died
due to the carelessness of the employees,
who didn't help her
after being trapped on the conveyor belt.
The animals are sent to an
electrocution
bath to be stunned before slaughter.
They are very afraid and fight to escape
death.
Many lift their heads above
the electrified water and avoid stunning.
They then have their throats slit.
The animals
who avoided stunning are still conscious
and will feel every bit of pain
from the blade.
In Brazil, the meat from hens
will be sold to humans
as highly processed food products.
In the United States, hens
who can no longer produce eggs
will be gassed and their body parts
rendered into fats, oils, and protein meal.
These animal products
will then be sold as additives for soaps,
paints, pet food, and other products.
Hens are intelligent
and emotional animals.
They create bonds with each other
and love to play and learn.
They enjoy sunbathing,
scratching, and nesting.
But those who live in
cages will never have the opportunity
to spread their wings.
These animals don't have to suffer,
and you don't have to contribute to their suffering.
There are many cruelty-free alternatives
that are healthier and
far more inexpensive than eggs.
From plant-based mayo
to delicious egg replacers,
there are countless
nutrient- and protein-rich foods
that are produced without using animals.
You can show compassion
for these beautiful animals
at every meal
by leaving eggs off your plate.