An animal protection body has come out with a public awareness film to highlight the extreme cruelty of intensive confinement of egg-laying hens in India.
People for Animals (PFA) said the birds are confined in barren wire cages called "battery cages" which provide each bird less space than an A4 size sheet (450 sq cm).
It said the birds in battery cages are so overcrowded that they are prevented from spreading their wings, standing up straight or even turning around.
In the film, Gauri Maulekhi, Trustee, PFA says all animals deserve a decent quality of life and it is their statutory right.
She also demonstrates the importance of having access to a nest box, which is possible in a cage-free environment that allows hens to express one of their essential natural behaviors leading to a happier and healthier flock.
The film also pitches support for a movement towards housing egg-laying hens in a cage free environment that would end unnecessary cruelty to hens.
"Through the medium of the film, the public is also being made aware of the fact that keeping hens in battery cages is a violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960).
"Under Section 11(1)(e) of the Act, it is illegal to keep any animal or bird in a cage that does not measure sufficiently in size so as to permit reasonable opportunity for movement," a PFA statement said.
In August, the Uttarakhand High Court in an order had recognised cruelty to hens in battery cages and directed a ban on the usage of battery cage facilities throughout the state, the statement said.
"Earlier, the Supreme Court, Law Commission of India, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Ministry of Science and Technology, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the Delhi High Court have held that battery cages are cruel to the birds," it said.
The film makes an appeal to the public to prevent industrial cruelty to billions of egg-laying hens.
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