An undercover investigation by French animal protection organization L214 of the Gaec du Perrat egg factory led to a shut down of the premises for animal cruelty and neglect by the French ministry of agriculture.
The factory housed over 200,000 egg-laying hens who were suffering in horrific conditions, crammed into tight cages, in the dark with little air. The building was filthy, and animals were living in their excrement and walking on cadavers.
After the national exposure of the inside of this factory, which is typical of factory farms, the owner of the factory sold off his animals to be slaughtered.
Rescuers scrambled to rescue a few thousand lucky hens. This is their story.
I’d like to thank L214 for the extraordinary work they do on behalf of animals as well as the dozens of rescuers who worked so hard, whose hearts were breaking because they couldn’t save them all. Some very lucky hens are now living the good life with humans who will treat them with kindness. These hens had never seen light, never seen the sky, never scratched in the ground, were starving, sick, thirsty, agonizing and half dead. In terms of sheer numbers, this is the largest rescue ever undertaken in France.
Thank you also to Freeplay music for the wonderful pieces I found that really fit the mood of the piece.
I hope that this short educational piece will help people understand that it is unethical to continue to eat animals and their products knowing the cruelty in the animal food biz. There is a simple solution to all of this. If we stop buying, they’ll stop killing.