It starts with a hand of an animal rights activist reaching into the cage to the suffering hen.
An activist holding a dying hen's head in her palm. A lot of the rescued hens in Australia are in appalling condition and have to be euthanased.
An activist and long term campaigner Patty Mark, opens a cage door to rescue an injured hen. The other activist Diana Simpson, is filming the removal of the hen in order to educate the public about the horrific conditions inside Happy Hens Egg World.
This is what a battery hen looks like. It is very rare that they will have all, if any, of their feathers. Battery hens are unhealthy and unhappy hens. Once in a loving home the feathers of rescued hens grow back and their body weight increases.
Inside one of the huge sheds at Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria. Happy Hen's is the largest battery hen farm in Victoria. These hens will spend 18 months crammed into tiny cages. They will suffer from diseases and deformities caused by cramped conditions and mutilation from other hens. They will die of dehydration and starvation. They will never see sunlight. They can barely turn around. They cannot spread their wings. They spend their lives standing on wire and often get caught and strangled in it. Note the filthy conditions. The shed is thick with cobwebs.
Activists removed 30 dead and decomposing bodies within half an hour of being in one of the sheds of Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria.
Activists on a rescue mission clean up blankets of thick cobwebs that are covering the hens in their cages.These hanging webs are filled with large black spiders, due to the amount of flies that are attracted to the manure and the rotting eggs and bodies of hens.
This poor hen had a tumour the size of a grapefruit that weighed two kilograms. We wanted to give her a good home but she had to be euthanased.
The appalling condition of one of the poor hens that had to be euthanased.
Patty Mark is an activist and long term campaigner for battery hens in Australia. Here she is displaying a completely featherless hen to the camera.
Australian activists during a Valentine's Day 'OUR HEARTS ARE WITH THE HENS' demonstration on the roof at Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria. Media coverage was widespread and a number of arrests were made as as result of this protest.
A poor little hen, whose body is twisted up recieves water through a syringe. Activist have made her a bed with straw and a soft cotton pillow case.
An underside view of the hens crammed into tiny cages and forced to spend their lives standing on wire. This horrible cruelty occurs so that people can eat their eggs. Note that the wire is thick with cobwebs and caked with hen manure.
One of the decomposing bodies witnessed by activists. This death is the result of a hen getting her head caught and twisted in the wire. In this position she would have slowly starved to death, watched by the other hen in her cage. Hens are always trying to escape or reach their eggs.
Activists hold up a banner 'BAN BATTERY CAGES' during a roof demonstration at Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria. Each of the huge sheds below contain 200,000 battery hens. The screaming can be easily heard from the roof.
Activists passing the hens fortunate enough to be rescued from the tiny cages, down into the manure pits. It won't be long before this hen is found a loving home at a sanctuary.
One of the lucky rescued battery hens takes a bath at the house of an activist. When activists get home after a rescue, the rescued hens are their first priority.
Activist Debra Tranter, holds a badly injured hen. This hen had an operation to have her huge gash sewn up. She survived and now lives at a hen sanctuary with other rescued battery hens
Activists hold up a banner 'WE'LL NEVER GIVE UP' during a roof demonstration at Happy Hens Egg World. Australian activists will not give up until Un-Happy Hens Egg World, and other battery hen farms like it right across Australia, are shut down. They will not stop until every abused battery hen finds a kind and loving home. The free range egg industry in Australia and worldwide kills off all of the male chicks. They are gassed with carbon monoxide and crushed to a pulp for stock cubes and chicken flavouring. Males make up 50% of the chickens in this industry. All you have to do to stop supporting animal cruelty on a daily basis is to stop eating eggs.
Australian activists climb up through the rafters from the manure pits to get to injured and dying hens. This section of manure was dry, but sometimes activists can fall into manure up to their chests or waists if they are not careful.
This poor hen is dying. She has caught her head in the wire. This is a common occurance inside the sheds at Happy Hens Egg World. Note that the other hen in the background has just laid an egg that is resting on a decomposing corpse of a hen. These are the eggs that some Australians like to eat for breakfast.
Deep below the tiers of cages at Happy Hens Egg World are the manure pits. If hens fall down through the cages when they try to escape, it is their fate to drown or starve to death in the pits below. This little hen perches on a thin strip of metal along the wall above the manure pits.
Australian activists stand on a dry section in the manure pits, beneath the tiers of cages above, that contain thousands of screaming hens. Many sick and dying hens were rescued on this occasion.
Some of the rescued hens at an activists house after a rescue. Fresh food, water and some comfortable straw is immediately provided for them and a good home on a hen sanctuary awaits them. Note the pet carry boxes are excellent for transporting hens.
Activists on the roof during a protest at happy hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria. The 13 activists had just been sprayed with hoses by the battery hen farmers Stephen Colla and Vince Colla. Later that day the TV media arrived by helicopter to film the protest.
Activist and video camera operator Diana Simpson, crawls up through the rafters from the manure pits at Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria.
A rescued hen from Happy Hens Egg World, enjoys a drink of fresh water at an activist's house immediately after a rescue operation.
An activist in a scuffle with a few battery hen farmers, after coming down off the roof during the roof demonstration at Happy Hens Egg World. Charges of trespass were dropped after an assault charge against the five farmers was filed.
A favourite sight is seeing the face of a little hen as she is lifted from the hell of the cages into the loving arms of an animal rights activist.
A successful rescue of 104 hens in just under two hours at Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria. These are called the 'THIS SECTION NEXT' rescues. During these rescue operations, activists proceed to empty the shed of hens. A majority of these hens now live peaceful and happy lives.
Yet another featherless hen after a rescue from Happy Hens Egg World. The pet box behind the hen is light to carry. They are very good for transporting hens so that they are comfortable.
Activists changing into protective clothing and masks, ready for a night's work of inspection, filming and hen rescue in the sheds at Happy Hens Egg World, Meredith, Victoria.
On the way out of the huge shed at Happy Hens Egg World, with a stretcher of hens. Over 40 hens were rescued on this night to be displayed at the Australian RSPCA headquarters. The Australian RSPCA continually refuse to prosecute these farmers for animal cruelty.
A rescued battery hen stands on green grass and feels the sunlight on her small naked body for the first time. Rescued hens will immediately dust bathe and start to scratch around in dirt. The very first chance that they get, their instincts will be fulfilled. This can never happen at a battery hen farm such as Happy Hens Egg World.
Activists working inside the sheds often carry water for the dehydrated hens. These masks were worn for ammonia fumes. Although we strongly recommend a proper industrial mask with two air filters, that can be bought at any hardware shop.
Australian activist, Mark Pearson walks along a thin strip by the manure pits beneath the many tiers of cages of screaming hens above at Happy Hens Egg World. These sheds are the size of aeroplane hangers and contain 200,000 hens.
The RSPCA in Australia work with the Department of Agriculture trying to cover up of this sort of animal cruelty. This hen's eye is closed and her physical condition is appalling. The Australian RSPCA doesn't care about poor little hens like this one.
Australian activist Coral Hull holding a rescued hen.
Australian activists on the roof during a demonstration at Happy Hen's Egg World, Meredith, Victoria. They will never give up until every battery hen farm in Australia is outlawed and closed down.
It ends for now, with the hens in cages that have to be left behind. This little hen like thousands of others at Happy Hens Egg World, and other battery hens farms throughout Australia, is waiting for an activist to open the wire cage door and lift her out to a life of freedom. Could that activist be you? Pease help us to help them!
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to make a donation or send a cheque/money order to;
Animal Liberation Victoria
394 Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia.
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