On Wednesday, May 29, fearless animal advocates disrupted the Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards, a prestigious grocery event in Toronto that recognizes innovative products. They called out Burnbrae Farms for misleading Canadians and continuing to confine hens in filthy wire cages for eggs.
Jenny McQueen and Taty Melo stormed the event to expose how Burnbrae is profiting from confining sensitive hens in cruel cages, while tricking consumers into thinking hens in their farms live without cruelty.
Despite Burnbrae’s packaging depicting green grass and their claim to be phasing out conventional battery cages, the reality is starkly different. Instead of going cage-free, Burnbrae is moving to “enriched” battery cages, also known as “enriched colonies”, which are slightly larger cages that still cause heartbreaking suffering.
Jenny stormed the stage with a larger banner that said, “BURNBRAE STOP CAGING HENS”. While the event staff grabbed Jenny and forced her off the stage, some people in the audience clapped and showed support for the message.
Canada is falling behind when it comes to animal welfare. Unlike the US, UK, and EU, which are transitioning away from cages for hens, Canada is moving towards new enriched cage systems that have some basic furnishings but still subject hens to horrifying cruelty, and are a far cry from a natural environment.
A shocking new undercover investigation from Animal Justice shows that hens in enriched cages still suffer from widespread illnesses, injuries, and diseases, just like they do in battery cages. Hens deserve so much more than a life of misery in a cage, and Canada should follow in the footsteps of the many countries worldwide that are going cage-free.
