The Animal Justice Action Team has taken to the streets to counter Burnbrae Farms’ misleading egg marketing. Canada’s biggest egg supplier is continuing to confine hens in cruel cages for their eggs, while tricking Canadians into believing they live good lives.
The Action Team has already postered Toronto and Vancouver (see the full list of locations here) and are looking to poster Ottawa as well. If you see one of the posters, make sure to take a photo and tag @burnbraefarms on social media.
In 2016, following public outrage, Canadian egg producers and retailers promised to move away from cages. However, they’ve failed to make any significant progress despite all of this time. Instead of eliminating cages like many countries around the world are doing, Canada is moving towards “enriched” cages, which are slightly larger cages than conventional battery cages. Like battery cages, these new systems still subject hens to heartbreaking illness, injuries, and death.
A whopping 75 percent of Canadians oppose caging hens entirely. Yet in 2022, only 17 percent of eggs produced in Canada came from cage-free hens. In stark contrast, 75 percent of eggs produced in the UK were cage-free. The Canadian egg industry claims that enriched cage eggs are an improvement for hens’ welfare. However, these cages offer only minor improvements, and still leave hens confined in filthy, crowded conditions, suffering from widespread injuries and illnesses.
Burnbrae still sources 50 percent of their eggs from battery cages, and is currently selling eggs from both conventional and enriched battery cages under its “Naturegg” and “Nestlaid” labels. The cartons feature grassy imagery, but these hens never see the outdoors. Eggs under the Nestlaid label come from enriched battery cages, with the “nest” consisting of nothing more than plastic flaps above wire flooring for hens to lay eggs behind. A recent survey of more than 1,000 Canadians found that only 11 percent of consumers knew that the term enriched colony housing refers to metal cages.
Through weekly actions, the Animal Justice Action Team has been using social media and other tools to question Burnbrae on why they are refusing to go cage-free, are misrepresenting the lives of the hens they exploit, and are pushing for the brand to change its cruel practices.
Join the Animal Justice Action Team to help keep up the pressure and help create a future without cages!
