Imagine spending your entire life crammed into a tiny wire cage – packed shoulder to shoulder with others of your own kind.
You are so crowded that you cannot walk or even fully extend your limbs. Imagine living side by side with the rotting bodies of your cage mates and suffering for weeks on end with untreated wounds and infections.
For over 250 million hens in the United States this is their daily reality.
A new Mercy For Animals undercover investigation is throwing back the curtains on one of California’s largest factory egg farms - exposing the routine abuse that takes place behind the closed doors of our nation’s egg industry.
From August – September, an MFA investigator worked at Norco Ranch in Menifee, CA, documenting standard egg industry animal abuse, including:
- Birds confined in tiny wire cages so small they couldn’t walk, perch, fully stretch their wings, or engage in other basic behaviors
- Ill birds neglected to die on top of dead piles – denied veterinary care or proper attention
- Workers killing birds by grabbing their necks and swinging them around in circles – an attempt to break their necks which often resulted in prolonged deaths for the animals
- Hens suffering from bloody open wounds and untreated infections
- Dead hens left to decompose in cages with birds still laying eggs for human consumption
- Birds trapped in the wire of their cages or under the feeding trays without access to food or water
MFA's newest investigation illustrates once again that animal cruelty and neglect are the egg industry standard.
Such investigative footage is further evidence that battery cages are inherently cruel and should be banned. This November Californians will have a chance to do just that by voting yes on proposition 2 – a modest proposal that would grant farmed animals in the state the ability to stand up, turn around, lie down, and extend their limbs.
As consumers we can choose to support kindness over cruelty at each meal. Adopting a compassionate vegan diet is one of the best actions we can take to prevent needless animal suffering and end the conditions documented during this investigation.
Investigator's Dairy
Thursday, 8/21/08
I saw two hens with prolapsed uteruses, both bloody and fully protruded, with feces and a pink fluid covering the rear feathers and down.
Friday, 8/22/08
In every barn I saw birds with feces-encrusted hind ends, and when I observed them closely, I saw they had raw hind ends and swollen flesh around their cavities.
I saw that one of the piles of dead birds had a live hen lying in it. She was lying on her side and would move only her neck and head.
I noticed that some cages contained five to six birds.
About 20% of the hens had mangled beaks, likely the result of careless de-beaking. Some of their bottom beaks were twice the length of their top beaks, making it difficult for them to pick up food.
Saturday, 8/23/08
I found two hens with atrophied crests who were lethargic and thin. One of them had her head lodged under her front cage wall.
Sunday, 8/24/08
Several dead hens were piled onto a cart and I saw that one hen was still shallowly breathing. Her head was hanging down and she was gasping for breath with her eyes closed, a clear fluid occasionally dripping from her mouth. I pointed this out to a worker and asked if it was a problem. He said “No. Pretty soon it’s dead.” He then grabbed her by her head, picked her up and spun her in circles a few times before dropping her back onto the dead pile. For about 90 seconds the hen lay there twitching.
I saw three hens with pus-filled, scabbing abscesses on their faces today.
I found a hen in a top cage with a large prolapse dripping blood. There was one other hen in her cage who had a bloody beak, indicating that this bird had been cannibalizing the prolapse.
Monday, 8/25/08
I saw four more hens with prolapses today. One was bleeding so heavily that it was a blood-soaked pile of feces on the egg belt that drew my attention to it. I also saw four bloodstained hens inside the cage.
Wednesday, 8/27/08
I found four hens with atrophied crests who were very lethargic. I placed three of them on top of cages, where one sat and two lay down, all of them motionless. Only one responded to my petting her, at which point she briefly raised and then lowered her head.
Thursday, 8/28/08
I saw a lethargic hen in a cage with a hardened hind end, swollen to twice the size of a normal chicken’s. What few feathers remained on the swollen area were coated in feces.
I saw two live hens lying on the floor. One was holding her head up, while the other rested her head on the ground. Neither could walk or flap her wings. I picked one up, who kicked lightly once and then let her head droop as she shut her eyes. The other bird let me pet her, kicking softly when I initially touched her but then lying motionless.
Friday, 8/29/08
In all of the barns I saw many birds with neuromas, painful tumors of the nerves, on their upper and lower beaks, some up to ¾ of an inch in diameter and covered in scabs.
The floor of one of the barns was cleaned while I was working in it, revealing maggots crawling over the floor of the barn.
Saturday, 8/30/08
I noticed about 40 dead chickens piled up inside and outside of barn bay doors and collected into a dozer blade this morning.
I also found a hen with a massive prolapse, covered in fresh blood. The hen walked low to the wire flooring and was being trampled by other birds in her cage.
Sunday, 8/31/08
I saw that one bird, lying underneath several other hens piled onto a metal cart, was still alive. It was clear that she was alive and breathing, with her head rising and falling as it hung toward the floor.
In one of the barns I saw a hen with her right leg bent back backwards about 45 degrees.
Monday, 9/1/08
I saw an egg with fresh blood on it in the egg collection belt. I then saw that one hen in a cage of four had openly bleeding tears on the outside of her cavity.
I also found a heavily decomposed hen in a top cage with three live hens. Her body was trampled flat with organs dangling through the wire flooring.
Thursday, 9/4/08
There were about 45 dead chickens in barns today. Two of the dead hens were in a cage together with two live hens.
Friday, 9/5/08
This morning I saw a live hen lying immobile on the floor next to two dead hens. Later there were two more dead hens in the pile, and the live hen was in death throes, twitching and slightly convulsing.
While working on egg collection belts, I saw tiny insects covering the eggs and egg belts. When I pulled my hands away from the belts, there were dozens of insects on my hands and arms.
Saturday, 9/6/08
I saw a dead hen in a bottom cage with blood covering the floor below her. I saw that her organs were spilling out of her cavity, with fresh blood dripping from them.
Sunday, 9/7/08
I saw about five dead hens in cages throughout the day, two whose heads were lodged under their cages’ front walls and others who had fallen from their cages onto the egg belts.
I found a live hen with her body trapped under her cage’s front wall and draped over the egg belt with eggs backing up against her head. I picked up the hen and took her to a worker, saying, “She’s not dead.” The worker immediately grabbed the hen by the head and spun her in circles for several seconds before throwing her on the concrete floor, where she gasped, twitched her legs, and convulsed for nearly two minutes.
Monday, 9/8/08
I found a hen with her head and right wing under her cage’s front wall. Clear fluid was dripping from her beak tip onto the egg belt below her creating a pool of drool.
Wednesday, 9/10/08
I saw a hen with an entire side of her face swollen about half an inch out. Her left eye was almost swollen shut.
Thursday, 9/11/08
I saw another bird with an entire side of her face swollen about an inch out. The swelling pushed her skin out to the point where her left eye was only a slit.
Sunday, 9/14/08
There was a pool of blood about eight inches in diameter in a pile of feces below one of the cages. I also saw a hen whose rear abdomen was swollen and her cavity was covered in pus.
I found two crippled hens today. I took one out of her cage and saw that she was unable to fly, walk, or move at all, other than to kick one leg weakly. Her head and part of her right wing were under the front wall of her cage with eggs bumping against her head.
I found another crippled hen partially under the front wall of her cage. Her left leg was stretched out and partially on an egg belt, and her neck was bent around backwards and to the left so her beak was touching her abdomen.
Monday, 9/15/08
This morning I saw that one of the barns was empty of birds and about 10 kill carts and 45 carbon dioxide containers were in the room. One kill cart was about ¾ full of dead hens, who had died inhaling the acidic, pungent CO2 gas. A worker told me that the birds were killed after about 1 year and 8 months in cages.
Another worker told me that he had found a live hen in a cage he was cleaning. I told another worker about this hen and she explained that it was likely that the bird’s leg was caught in the cage wire and no one bothered to dislodge her. I asked her what we should do with the bird, and she said to leave her there until she died.
Sunday, 9/21/08
I found several injured and sick birds throughout the ranch. I discovered four hens that appeared lethargic, lying in cages motionless. One of the hens was being trampled by two other birds in her cage who were stepping on her body and head.
I found a hen with a hard, swollen abdomen. Her rear end was about twice the size of a normal hen’s, missing nearly all of its feathers, and covered in excrement.
I saw that one dead hen’s head was lying on the egg belt running below her cage.
Expert Opinions
Independent experts in bird welfare and veterinary medicine reviewed the video footage from MFA's undercover investigation of Norco Ranch. Below are some of their statements:
Nedim C. Buyukmihci, V.M.D.
Dr. Buyuckmihci is an Emeritus Professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. He has over 34 years of experience, much of it involving farmed animals including chickens. Dr. Buyuckmihci states:
"The video I viewed depicted typical, although inappropriate, practices at battery facilities. Hens were crowded in wire cages so that the birds could not lie down or walk, spread their wings or rest without causing major disturbance to the rest of the birds in the cage. This demonstrated that cage size was insufficient for normal postural adjustments. The cages had wire floors, something that is known to cause injury to the hens' feet. Because there were tiers of cages, hens below each row of cages would be subjected to waste material from the hens above, something that is unhygienic. Some of the hens had badly damaged feathers, probably a consequence of the extreme crowding and lack of opportunity to properly maintain their plumage.
Many of the hens had what appeared to be serious injuries or other abnormalities to their vent areas. In some cases, this appeared to be due to tearing of the tissue or possibly cloacal rupture or prolapse. Some of the chickens may have been egg-bound. All these are painful conditions that would cause pain and suffering. Immediate veterinary intervention or euthanasia is necessary in order to minimize this. Because some of the conditions appeared to be relatively long-standing, it suggested that this was not being done.
Some of the hens had various swellings involving the head. From the video footage, the cause or
welfare implications could not be determined in most cases. In at least one, however, the lesion involved the right eye or orbital region. This appeared to be consistent with substantial inflammation and was likely painful, warranting immediate treatment or euthanasia.
All the hens appeared to have been subjected to “de-beaking” or “beak trimming,” which is done in an attempt to reduce injury caused by the hens picking at each other. The reason for the aggression, however, is largely due to the crowded conditions. The consequence for the hens in the video, typical for this type of mutilation, is that the beaks were malformed. This would make prehension of food very difficult. Preening, an important behavioral and health related activity, would be essentially impossible. In addition, because the beak is rich in nerves, the cutting of this tissue can result in neuromas. The latter are painful tumors caused by aberrant regrowth of the nervous tissue. This was evident in several of the birds in the video and probably was a source of constant discomfort.
There were several scenes in which a worker apparently attempted to kill chickens by twirling the body while holding onto the head. This is not a veterinary approved method of killing birds. Nor is such treatment likely to kill quickly in all cases and would cause considerable pain and suffering in the interim even if the bird eventually succumbed. The video footage showed several live birds, some conscious, on piles of what appeared to be dead birds. If the method of “killing” that I observed was routine, then seeing these living birds would not be surprising. Although it cannot be proven from the video footage, it is likely that many of these living birds were in pain.
Some birds were trapped by the cage structures so that they could not move. In addition to the stress and suffering caused by this type of restraint, these individuals would also not be able to get food or water. This would add to their suffering. Such situations demand immediate intervention.
A few crippled hens were shown lying outside the cages. These hens did not appear to have had access to water or food. If they were being left there for more than a few hours, this would result in further suffering for them. Euthanasia or removal to a location where they could get proper care would mitigate the negative welfare of the situation.
Many dead birds were shown in the cages. Some of these clearly had died days to weeks before, as evidenced by the state of decomposition or mummification of the bodies. There was no way to
determine from the video if the hens had died quickly or had experienced a slow and possibly painful death. It is feasible that some may have died of contagious conditions or have developed contagious opportunistic infestations during decomposition that could then have placed the other hens at risk. It is axiomatic that dead animals should be immediately removed from contact with living animals particularly under intense housing conditions such as battery cages in order to reduce the chance of contagion.
There is no question that the manner in which the chickens depicted in the video were treated was cruel by any normal definition of the word and resulted in suffering for the birds. The treatment of the hens violated norms of conduct with respect to animal welfare and veterinary care. None of this was necessary in order to pursue the purpose of the facility, which appeared to be the production of eggs. As such, it seems to me that this would constitute a violation of applicable animal cruelty laws."
Sara Shields, Ph.D.
Dr. Shields is an animal welfare scientist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, where she teaches in the Animal Science department. Dr. Shields earned her Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis, in the Animal Behavior program. There she worked with both broiler chickens and laying hens. She also worked in the Emergency Disease Program at the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Dr. Shields states:
"In addition to the hens with prolapsed oviducts, many of the hens in the video show signs of other medical conditions that would require immediate attention, veterinary diagnosis, and individualized care. Others have experienced poor beak trimming treatments, leaving them with permanent beak abnormalities."
"In addition to the injuries, ailments, and obvious suffering depicted, there is also a vast body of scientific knowledge providing ample evidence that battery cages, such as those in the video, are simply inappropriate environments for laying hens in the first place. Battery cages restrict natural hen behavior to such a degree that their ethological needs are frustrated, which may lead to distress and further suffering."
"Such conditions are deplorable and reform is desperately needed throughout the egg industry."
Christi Camblor, DVM
Dr. Camblor received her Bachelors of Science in Animal Biology and her doctorate in veterinary medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Camblor states:
Several labeled clips were provided for my revision; Killing, Live Hens on Dead Piles, Sick/
Injured Hens, Trapped, Crowding and Death. Below I’ve listed a summary of the conditions
observed in each of the corresponding segments.
Killing
In this segment an unidentified worker is seen wringing the necks of hens and tossing them aside
onto the floor, where several other carcasses have already been tossed aside. There are several
examples shown wherein following the neck wringing the birds are clearly still alive, yet they are
thrown aside with the other dead hens. This footage illustrates that the technique used at this
facility is not consistently effective and is not a reliable, humane method of ensuring death in
these birds. The animals tossed aside while still alive have assuredly endured painful, severe
injuries as a result of the crude and imprecise method employed and, furthermore, are then left to linger and die slowly on their own.
Live Hens on Dead Piles
This portion shows multiple examples of live hens being found within heaps of dead carcasses.
The majority of these hens appear to be in dire condition, visibly crippled animals can be seen,
birds that appear to be demonstrating agonal breathing, birds so physically deteriorated they are barely able to lift their heads. Without question, leaving a live animal to die of its own recourses while surrounded in a mound of dead carcasses is an inhumane, unacceptable practice. The fact that these birds also clearly are suffering from physical injury adds to the cruelty demonstrated by this practice.
Sick/Injured Hens
This section of the film shows a variety examples of severely injured animals on the production
line. Birds are shown with prolapsed cloacas, facial and ocular abscesses, broken limbs, and
ulcerated, bloody genitivally. All of these conditions are painful, chronic health conditions that
left untreated lead to prolonged suffering and ill health. They also pose serious threats to the
sanitation of the product {in this case the egg} given the animals are often covered in blood,
feces, and purulent material as a result of some of these injuries and are then left amidst the other birds. Allowing these birds to endure these atrocious physical ailments without the benefit of medical attention or immediate euthanasia seriously infringes upon their welfare and constitutes abhorrent animal cruelty in my opinion.
Trapped
Birds in this portion of the film can be seen with various body parts trapped within the wire
confines of their cages. Most often heads and necks are trapped, but there are also clips wherein
the birds have their limbs trapped as well, along with entire torsos. These animals are left on the assembly line and can be seen being repeatedly bombarded with eggs as they pass along the
trough their heads and limbs are caught in. There is no evidence that there is any sort of recourse for these birds, who invariably must suffer broken limbs, appendages, and painful, repetitive injuries as a result of having gotten a part of themselves trapped within the battery cages.
Crowding
This section shows what appears to be typical, industry standard battery cage crowding wherein
birds are literally so crowded they are unable to stand, and as such must flop and crawl atop one
another. The intense crowding demonstrated on this portion of the film clearly impinges upon the welfare of these animals who are unable to perform even the most basic of acts, such as simply standing up, turning around, or stretching their wings.
Death
Numerous examples of dead animals are shown in cages of live hens. These conditions are
unsanitary and inhumane, as they demonstrate not only a level of care so poor animals are dying
on their own before pulling culled, but then are also left to rot amongst live animals who are
trapped within the confines of the same battery cage.
In closing, the overall conditions demonstrated within the video footage made available show
clear animal cruelty, undeniable inhumane treatment of the birds and egregious animal suffering.
Kate Hurley, DVM, MPVM
Dr. Hurley received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree Master’s degree in Preventive Veterinary Medicine from University of California, Davis. Dr. Hurley states:
"The practices and conditions depicted in the Norco video do not reasonably fall anywhere within the bounds of acceptable herd health care."
"Battery cage systems can not provide humane conditions under the best of circumstances: suffering is inevitable when hens are so restricted that they can not take even a few steps or stretch their wings without running into wire cage walls or another bird. The Norco video starkly demonstrates that the suffering, injuries, disease and death associated with battery cage systems extend far beyond restriction of movement and prevention of normal behaviors."
Source: MFA
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