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It has to live in a space the size of an A4-sized paper. It is unable to spread its wings. And it most certainly cannot engage in its natural behaviour of nesting, perching, and dust-bathing. This, say animal activists, is the lot of the hen in poultry farms. In all the clamour about animal slaughter, this humble animal has been conveniently forgotten, they point out.
The activists have found a creative way to convey their message, putting up a billboard not very far from the Poultry India expo, where the who’s who of the industry have gathered for the three-day event. “Battery cages are illegal and cruel. Go cage free!” says the the Humane Society International/India (HSI) billboard.
“Today there are approximately 220 million egg-laying hens suffering in battery cages across the country. Each hen is afforded only 67 square inches of cage space,” an HSI activist said.
“The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) stated that this violates the provisions of Section 11(1)(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. As many as 24 states have issued directions to poultry farmers to phase out battery cages by 2017. This is yet to be implemented,” said NG Jayasimha, Managing Director of HSI India.
Industry view
The poultry industry, however, argues that this is not practical and would escalate costs. “Vested interests are at play. Those who want to make our products costlier are encouraging the protesters. Increased space would mean more investments on farms,” said a top industry executive, who did not want to be named.
Citing the current surge in egg prices, another warned of a further spike. “There is a huge furore now as the egg price is touching the ₹7-mark. If you burden the industry more, prices will go up further,” he said.
B Soundarajan, MD of Suguna Holdings, which has a 15 per cent share of the broiler market, said there should be a prescribed standard for the cages.
Acting on appeals from several quarters, the Bureau of Indian Standards is likely to soon come out with standards. A panel set up by the bureau has reportedly recommended a cage space of 550 sq cm (85 sq inches) for each bird.
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