Animal welfare charity Viva! is urging the public to respond to the Government’s consultation on banning cages for egg-laying hens, which closes today (9 March), following the release of undercover footage from a Shropshire egg facility.

‍Viva! investigators entered Heal Farms in May 2023 and again in December 2025, filming hens confined inside enriched “colony” cages. More than seven million hens in the UK currently live in these systems, which the Government has admitted “do not fully provide for the physical and behavioural needs of laying hens”. Caged systems still supply around 17 per cent of the UK’s eggs.

“What we witnessed at Heal Farms was nothing short of hell for hens: row after row of birds crammed into metal cages, denied freedom, peace and everything that makes life worth living,” says Juliet Gellatley, founder and director of Viva!. “So-called enriched ‘colony’ cages are just cruelty rebranded; the egg industry simply swapped one form of hell for another.”

‍

Under current proposals, new enriched cages could be banned from 2027, with a full phase-out by 2032. Viva! argues this is too slow, warning that tens of millions more hens will suffer before any ban takes effect. “Given that most hens are gassed to death at approximately 18 months of age and replaced, the proposed 2032 date still condemns tens of millions more hens to unnatural, unhappy lives spent crammed inside filthy cages,” Gellatley adds.

Each hen in an enriched colony cage is legally given just 750cm² of space. Viva!’s footage shows cages stacked seven tiers high, hens standing on wire flooring, birds with feather loss and overgrown claws, and in one instance, a dead hen left inside a cage near food and water.

Despite polling suggesting that 94 per cent of the British public oppose caging hens, Viva! says some major retailers are still selling caged eggs. Farmfoods has publicly reversed its cage-free pledge, while Iceland, Heron Foods and Asda have faced criticism over ongoing sales. Viva! also highlights that eggs from caged hens are commonly used in cakes, biscuits and ready meals, often with unclear labelling.

The investigation marks the launch of Viva!’s “Cracked” campaign, which will raise awareness of commercial egg farming practices, including so-called free range systems, and promote plant-based alternatives. The charity also draws attention to the fate of male chicks, with an estimated 40 to 45 million gassed each year in the UK as by-products of the egg industry.

• Over seven million UK chickens live in cramped enriched 'colony' cages, which the Government admits “do not fully provide for the physical and behavioural needs of laying hens”
• Viva! is calling on the public to respond to a government consultation on cage reform, as it warns proposed timelines will condemn tens of millions more birds to a life of suffering
• Major UK retailer Farmfoods has publicly abandoned its pledge to go cage-free, while Iceland, Heron Foods  and Asda are still stocking caged eggs
• 40 to 45 million male chicks are gassed to death in the UK each year because of the egg industry

‍

The realityof life inside an enriched 'colony' cage at Heal Farms, Shropshire; crowded andunnatural.

(Photo Credit: Viva! Campaigns) 

‍