Britain’s The Happy Egg Co. is one of the largest “free-range” egg producers in the U.K. The company’s marketing materials depict happy hens roaming vast green fields, but PETA U.K.’s footage tells a different story: The majority of the birds seen on farms supplying Happy Egg Co. had portions of their beaks cut off. Debeaking can cause lifelong acute or chronic pain.
On all three farms investigated by PETA U.K., they found that the corpses of dead birds were left to rot among the living.
Happy Egg Co. presents itself in a bright, cheery way to mislead consumers into believing that its products come from “happy hens.” In reality, the chickens live in filthy, severely crowded sheds and are subjected to debeaking.
Whenever animals are used for profit, they always suffer. “Cage-free,” “free-range,” and other feel-good labels are largely meaningless.
The best way to help hens is to stop eating eggs. There are so many great substitutes for eggs that you can easily continue to eat your favorite meals—just replace a few ingredients.
