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MMOXIEE@aol.com
Top Gold Member
81 Posts |
 Posted - 06/01/2005 : 23:10:58
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The Cage-Free Birds Sing
hen <https://community.hsus.org/ct/W7acb1n1Ymxl/>With one simple
decision, Wild Oats Markets, the third-largest natural foods retailer in
the United States with 75 stores in 23 states, has just made life better
for countless laying hens who typically live in crowded battery cages no
larger than a piece of notebook paper. On Tuesday, Wild Oats announced a
new corporate policy against the sale of cage eggs, effective immediately.
This historic announcement makes Wild Oats the first national retailer
to officially commit exclusively to cage-free eggs for its approved
national and regional product lists. The hundreds of millions of hens in
battery cages are the most intensively confined animals in the United
States. Caged laying hens cannot even stretch their wings, let alone
engage in other natural behaviors such as nesting, foraging, perching,
and dust bathing.
"Demand for improving the welfare of farm animals has never been
higher," said Perry Odak, president and CEO of Wild Oats. "We are
hopeful that our decision not to approve egg farmers who use caged birds
for our national and regional product lists will encourage the egg
industry
What You Can Do
» Thank Wild Oats <https://community.hsus.org/ct/W7acb1n1Ymxl/> for
adopting a cage-free policy.
» Read more <https://community.hsus.org/ct/b7acb1n1Ymxj/> about this
historic decision.
to move in the direction of phasing out its use of battery cages, and
shifting toward cage-free methods that take the animals' welfare into
account."
At present, virtually no laws exist in the United States to protect
these birds. Egg-laying hens are exempted from the federal Animal
Welfare Act and are excluded from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
Most states' anti-cruelty statutes either explicitly exempt standard
agricultural practices—no matter how abusive—or they aren't ever applied
to farm animals.
Fortunately, with leading companies like Wild Oats taking steps to
improve animal welfare, laying hens in the United States are beginning
to see their plight improve. And that's why it's important to thank Wild
Oats <https://community.hsus.org/ct/W7acb1n1Ymxl/> for leading this
important charge.
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The Cage-Free Birds Sing
