In March 2023, the non-governmental organization A Promise to Animals conducted research in poultry farming units and egg-producing bird facilities. Our team of researchers visited farms in various regions of the country and documented the poor and unhygienic conditions of farming and the inherent problems in poultry farming units: crowded coops and laying units, inability to perform natural behaviors, birds in narrow cages, some struggling to stand or walk, sick, injured, and dead birds. Chickens and birds live a very short and agonizing life.
CHICKEN
Approximately 45% of chicken in the European Union are raised in so-called enriched cages. In Greece, this number stands at 76.5% according to recent data, much higher than the EU average. Compared to conventional cages, which were gradually phased out across the EU in 2012, enriched cages supposedly provide more space and environmental enrichment to birds. However, the space provided to each bird still corresponds to approximately one A4-sized paper. The perches are constructed very low (due to the low ceilings of the cages) to satisfy the birds' need to feel safe during nighttime roosting; usually, there is not enough sand for them to dust bathe or scratch, and the nests they share with many other birds do not allow each one to perform the natural behavior of nesting. The extremely limited space prevents birds from foraging and exploring their environment, even though in normal conditions they spend 50-90% of their time foraging. It is an urgent need to abolish the use of cages as they severely restrict movement, lead to injuries and negative behaviors, and increase the suffering of birds.
Due to the unsuitable environment that prevents birds from performing their normal behavior, they redirect this urge by pecking at other birds. The aggressive feather pecking causes injuries and can also escalate into cannibalism, when birds peck at bare body parts and cause bleeding. Although this undesirable behavior could be resolved by improving conditions on farms and providing quality food and space with bedding that allows for foraging, instead producers opt to trim the birds' beaks. The pain caused by this beak trimming - which is done without anesthesia - can last for weeks.
Although birds descend from a red junglefowl that laid about 10 to 15 eggs per year, selective breeding has increased the annual egg production of birds to around 300 eggs. The pressure of egg laying for more and larger eggs, especially when laying begins before the bones are fully developed, contributes to the very common problem of bone fractures. Intense egg laying requires calcium supplies, which lead to osteoporosis, a condition not observed in the wild ancestors of birds and clearly caused by harmful selective breeding.
