Egg industry lies exposed in world-first footage of hens being gassed to death

Filmed by Joey Carbstrong, the footage shows hens gasping for air.

In what’s thought to be the first ever video of its kind, hens can be seen writhing in distress, shrieking, and trying to escape their crates as they are lowered into a gas chamber and exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide. No longer profitable to the industry, these ‘spent’ hens are left to die slowly and agonisingly, before being turned into cheap meat products.  

Last year, 99% of hens were slaughtered using gas, disproving industry claims that ‘free range’ or ‘organic’ equals better treatment of animals.  

Animal Aid have investigated egg farms throughout Britain and uncovered similarly shocking scenes. The footage below was filmed in 2020, showing just how little has changed.

These animals deserve better.

Just like other types of animal farming, the egg industry survives by pedalling a false narrative of happy hens living natural lives, dustbathing in the sunshine and foraging in the grass – but this is a lie.

The truth is that while battery cages were banned across the EU in 2012, these were simply replaced with ‘enriched’ or ‘colony’ cages which are no better. These cages hold around 60-80 hens giving each bird 600cm² of usable space, which is just 50cm bigger than the old battery cages. There is nothing enriching about these enriched cages and is hugely misleading to the public who may unknowingly be buying eggs from caged hens.

Hens housed in barns don’t fare much better. Like caged hens, most will never see daylight instead living under artificial lighting with very little enrichment. Free-range hens may also be kept in barns but with some access to the outdoors, leading many to believe that ‘free-range’ means ‘cruelty free’. However, access is limited and inaccessible for many birds, whose poor health can limit their ability to move around and reach feed, water, or the outdoors. Even on organic farms, animals can be kept in sheds of up to 3,000 birds making it impossible to ensure the wellbeing of every individual.

Regardless of the label on the egg box – caged, free-range, barn or organic – all hens will be sent to slaughter when their bodies can no longer cope with the industry’s high demand for eggs. And with 99% of hens being slaughtered using gas, there can be no question that the egg industry is cruel.