Battery+Hens+-+A+different+perspective

Student Number: n8846511 Student Name: Harrison Spicer Tutor: Michelle Cornford
 * Artefact: Human Battery Hens **

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 * The artefact I have chosen is an article showing one of the most socioeconomically challenged parts of Hong Kong. The article displays many photos of families and individuals living in old, run down rooms. The rooms these humans are living in are tiny and perhaps barely bigger than a toilet cubicle. The depressingly crammed spaces are used as a kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, pantry and everything in between. The rent is extremely high in Hong Kong and those that cannot afford it are forced to live in these tiny abodes where they are crammed in along with all of their life possessions and daily living essentials. **** Below are some of the photos from the article. **

The issue that I am examining is the controversy of the way battery hens are kept and treated. Battery hens are forced to live in a space equivalent to about an A4 sized piece of paper. This isn’t enough room for the hen to perform its natural behavioral instincts such as nesting, foraging and spreading its wings. The conditions in which they live are filthy and increase the risk of foodborne diseases such as salmonella.

Each year, approximately 280 million chickens are used for their eggs. These chickens are known as “laying hens” or “battery hens” and these creatures undergo two years of cruelty and distress (PETA.org, 2013). Currently, 95% of the commercial laying hens in Australia are living in battery cages, where they are unable to spread their wings or undergo any normal behavioral activities the creature would normally do in the wild (Animal Liberation QLD, 2004). The battery cages are extremely unnatural. Hens may have to share a cage with up to five other hens. The space allocated for each hen is less than the size of a piece of A4 paper and the cages are made of wire, which is extremely uncomfortable for the hen’s feet (RPSCA.ORG, 2013). These behaviors include nesting, perching, roosting, scratching, digging and engaging in social interaction with other hens.
 * Literature Review – **

The wire flooring that constitutes a battery cage robs the hens of the chance to forage and scratch its surroundings, as it normally would in its natural environment. Within the battery cage, the hens are fed a concentrated diet however their natural urge to forage for food remains, even though they are already being fed (Shields and Duncan, 2009). Hens spend many hours in the attempt to stabilise their feet on the wire flooring. This complimented with the lack of sunshine and the overproduction of eggs causes the bones to become week and fragile and easier to break (Voiceless, 2013).

On another note, hens that are kept in battery cages are so cramped for space that they lack the opportunity to exercise and aren’t exposed to the normal experiences of physical forces that affect bone growth and development as they experience in the wild. A process known as dynamic loading occurs during normal day to day movements of animals. Dynamic movement causes stress and strain to the skeletal system and keeps the bones and muscles in a healthy working condition. This lack of exercise noted in battery hens directly affects the fragility of the bones and muscles (Shields and Duncan, 2009).

Correspondingly, the crammed build of the battery cage forces the naturally clean animals to urinate and defecate on each other. Diseases are common in the filthy mess and cause many of the birds to die Furthermore, due to the naturally inquisitorial nature of the hen, they tend to habit exploratory behavior. This behavior may be independent or dependent of goals, yet the hens continue to display exploratory behavior nevertheless. Battery cages make it impossible for the hen to engage in such behavior while barn housing systems and free-range systems of egg production provide much more opportunity for exploring than the battery cage (Shields and Duncan, 2009).

Another terrible act that is forced upon the battery hen is the process of beak trimming. Battery hens have their beaks partially removed with a hot blade. The blade cuts through the beak, which houses bone, and nervous tissue, which inflicts severe pain upon the hen (Animal Liberation QLD, 2004). Beak trimming is routinely performed prior to putting the hen in the battery cage. It is designed to mitigate the problem of cannibalism and feather picking with other hens in the cage. The trimming has the ability to cause neuromas at the tip of the beak, which makes the process of eating extremely painful for the hen – some hens cannot withstand the intense pain and simply starve to death, while others develop infections that must be treated by antibiotics (RSPCA.ORG, 2009).

The welfare of the laying hen can be better understood by examining the emotions the creatures endure during their life in the cage. While humans experience much more complex subjective feelings, we share the basic emotions with animals such as the laying hen. These basic emotions are accompanied by changes such as behavioral, physiological and cognitive activities of the birds. Potential causes of pain for the laying hen include problems such as breakage of bones due to the wire cages, human handling which includes the cramped space the birds must share, and diseases and beak trimming. Pain may have a further affect to trigger the fear response in the hen. Many studies have been conducted to test the levels of fear the birds experience in different housing systems as a fair indicator of hen welfare in each system. A common test of fear in hens is the tonic immobility test. This test involves catching and restraining the hen until an immobile state is prompted (Lay and Fulton et al., 2011).

It is evident that the battery hen industry is an extremely important issue in today’s society due to the cruel and unethical life the hens must endure in the battery cage. Organizations such as PETA and RSPCA focus attention on the immoral and unjust ways in which the hens are treated. They work through public education, investigations of cruelty, research, and animal rescue, legislations and protest campaigns in order to try to make a change. Organizations such as the RSPCA engage in movements to try to ban the caged hen issue. For example an extremely positive move to get hens out of cages was the setting up of the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme. Egg producers are allowed to use the RSPCA logo on the egg cartons if they meet the welfare standards set by the RSPCA in the egg laying industry. This is an extremely effective way of readdressing the issue as it gives the public an ethical choice to buy the eggs of approved welfare (RSPCA.ORG, 2013). Many other animal welfare organizations are using similar approaches to educate society of the welfare of hens in the industry.

Many groups, movements and organizations directly influence and are affected by the issue of battery hens. The social/cultural groups who are most involved in this issue are organizations such as PETA and the RSPCA. These organizations put forth many movements and campaigns in order to stop the cruelty associated with farming battery hens. These organizations are crucial in redressing this issue as they advertise, promote and raise awareness of issue through things such as campaigns and this educates the general population about the issue and allows society to make an individual judgment based on the facts.
 * Cultural and Social Analysis – **

Awareness of the issue of battery hens is extremely important and it is crucial for to discussion. The battery hen industry is extremely immoral and cruel and without organizations such as PETA, RSPCA and Voiceless, then the general population would fail to understand the severity of the issue.

Without animal welfare organizations, there wouldn’t be the campaigning or need for change as there is today, as the issue wouldn’t be seen as important. However, due to these movements set by such organizations, the phasing out of battery hens may be approaching. Supermarkets such as Woolworths have agreed to completely phase out cage eggs by 2018, which is a response to the public knowledge of the unethical treatment of the laying hen in battery cages. This is a good example of why public awareness of this issue is so important. Huge companies such as Woolworths have the ability to raise public awareness of this issue. They can advertise the barn-laid or free-range eggs in a more effective way in order to persuade the public to think twice about their purchase. If the phasing out of cage eggs continues then people will become more convinced that purchasing cage-free eggs is the right thing to do.

Social groups that are affected by this issue are people from the vegetarian/vegan lifestyle who tend to show more compassion towards the cruelty and unethical treatment of animals. The social change of vegetarianism is both an influence and an effect of this issue. People may choose to become a vegetarian due to the animal cruelty associated with caged eggs, and similarly the vegetarian population influences the industry through awareness raise by organizations such as PETA.

From a human health perspective, it has been proven that raising the hens in the crowded and unhygienic conditions of the cage it increases the risk of foodborne diseases such as the salmonella infection. Salmonella is the highest diagnosed foodborne bacterial infection and has been the leading cause of death caused by food. Salmonella infects the ovaries of the hens; therefore the eggs from the infected birds can be laid with the salmonella infection (Cage Free Pennstate.ORG, 2010). Due to the threat cage eggs pose in regards to human consumption, it is obvious that public health experts should continue to focus highly on this serious issue.

My artefact on the “human battery hens” represents the living environments that the hens kept in battery cages endure daily. Being able to visualize the cramped living spaces that the residents of the low-socioeconomic areas of Hong Kong must live in daily allowed me to empathize with them on a personal level as it displays very similar living conditions to that of the battery hen. The tiny living area that is displayed in the variety of photos in the article is similar to that of the battery hen. Similarly, the fact that many of these rooms accommodate a family of 4 is also a representation of the amount of hens that are cramped into a tiny cage. A family living in these tiny apartments is at risk of contracting diseases due to the small size – similar to the battery hen. Dirt, moisture and other unhygienic things that are produced in any normal day-to-day house are multiplied in these tiny apartments. This alludes to the tiny battery cages that become extremely filthy due to the small spaces. As a result of this assessment piece, I have learnt to empathize towards not only battery hens, but also any other animal that undergoes unnecessary cruelty. The artefact I chose allowed me to feel this empathy as I found it easier to empathize for the people living in these tiny rooms in Hong Kong and link this to the similar living environment of the battery hen.
 * Analysis of Artefact and Reflection – **

http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/Cannabis+is+our+culture%21 http://healthcultureandsociety2013.wikispaces.com/page/messages/Agony+to+Ecstasy
 * Learning Engagement and Reflection Task **

PETA.org (2013). //The Egg Industry//. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/egg-industry.aspx [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].
 * Bibliography **

Animal Liberation QLD (2004). //Poultry - chickens//. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.animalliberationqld.org.au/Poultry.htm [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].

RPSCA.ORG (2013). //What is the RSPCA's position on battery cages? - RSPCA Australia knowledgebase//. [online] Retrieved from: http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-the-RSPCAs-position-on-battery-cages_103.html [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].

Shields, S. and Duncan, I. (2009). An HSUS Report: A Comparison of the Welfare of Hens in Battery Cages and Alternative Systems. //The Humane Society of the United States//, Retrieved from: [].

Voiceless (2013). //Battery cages equivalent to torture//. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.voiceless.org.au/animal-law/political-voices/torture [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].

RSPCA.ORG (2009). //What is beak trimming? - RSPCA Australia knowledgebase//. [online] Retrieved from: http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-beak-trimming_359.html [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].

Lay, D., Fulton, R., Hester, P., Karcher, D., Kjaer, J., Mench, J., Mullens, B., Newberry, R., Nicol, C., O’Sullivan, N. and Porter, R. (2011). Hen welfare in different housing systems. //Poultry Science//, 90 (1), pp. 278-294. doi:10.3382/ps.2010-00962.

RSPCA.ORG (2013). //What is the RSPCA doing to get hens out of cages? - RSPCA Australia knowledgebase//. [online] Retrieved from: http://kb.rspca.org.au/What-is-the-RSPCA-doing-to-get-hens-out-of-cages_104.html [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].

Cage Free Pennstate.ORG (2010). //Food Safety Benefits of Cage-Free Eggs//. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.cagefreepennstate.org/FoodSafety_EggProduction.pdf [Accessed: 11 Oct 2013].