UK egg producer Noble Foods has been accused of contravening guidelines on animal welfare.
An investigation by animal-rights pressure group Viva UK news programme Five News claimed two of Noble’s farms in Scotland were breaching guidelines.
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“Contented hens, pecking at the ground and enjoying a dust bathe in the sun – that’s most people’s view of free range egg production,” said Viva campaigns manager Justin Kerswell.
“Viva And Five News’ investigation into [Noble arm] The Happy Egg Company shows a very different picture – one of disease, incarceration, mutilation, short lives and electric shocks.”
The animal-rights group said footage showed that hens were being kept indoors for the first 18-21 weeks of their life in “unnaturally high flock sizes”. The report also claimed that when hens do have access to the outside “many appear so shell-shocked that they never go out”.
“Our footage didn’t show many ‘happy hens’,” Kerswell said. “In fact, what we found was more death camp than holiday camp. Ultimately, they barely have a year’s worth of life as supposedly free range hens before they are sent hundreds of miles to slaughter.
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By GlobalData“As a nation we seriously need to examine where our food comes from and decide if we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution. The only way to ensure that you don’t buy into cruelty is stop eating eggs entirely,” he added.
Noble did not return requests for comment as just-food went to press.
