2016 was a year where farm animals came out on top. Major companies pledged to phase out battery cages and gestation crates (see definition of both below). It was also a year that benefited domestic pets. Puppy mills were banned in several states, pets used in research are getting a second chance, and greyhound racing is becoming a thing of the past. Read below for more highlights.
Global progress for farm animals: Major companies pledged to phase out battery cages, with some companies pledging to eliminate gestation crates at the same time. These companies include McDonald’s, Burger King, and Compass Group, the world’s largest food service provider.
Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens eggs. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the name refers to the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, sharing common divider walls, as in the cells of a battery. In the U.S., more than 90 percent of the 300 million egg-laying chickens are housed in battery cage. On average, each caged laying hen is afforded only 67 square inches of cage space, less space than a single sheet of letter-sized paper on which to live her entire life. Unable even to spread their wings, caged laying hens are among the most intensively confined animals in agribusiness.