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An ethical issue – Battery egg production
This material addresses aspects of the following syllabus outcomes:
H1.1 explains the influence of the physical, biological, social, historical and economic factors on sustainable agricultural production
H2.2 describes the inputs, processes and interactions of animal production systems.
The work presented in the following section contributes towards understanding the following syllabus content areas:
Students learn about:
Animal ethics and welfare
- Ethics, welfare and legal issues and requirements
Students learn to:
- Discuss one ethical issue relevant to an animal production system such as mulesing, live export, battery egg production, use of farrowing crates.
Extract from Stage 6 Agriculture Syllabus NSW Board of Studies Amended 2009
Introduction
The majority of eggs sold in Australia are produced from hens that spent most of their lives in wire cages, never having the opportunity to scratch the ground, nest or perch. Many people think this is an unacceptable management practice and advocate alternative systems of egg production such as barn laid and free range. These alternative systems are more expensive to manage and mean that the eggs are more expensive for consumers. This piece of work explores this issue and will help you understand the facts about each system.
To help you gain some knowledge and understanding of egg production in Australia you should visit the Hen Welfare Advisory Group 
, Choose Wisely and Queensland Egg Farmers Association websites.
Use the information from these websites to help you answer the following questions about each of the three egg production systems:
- Battery cages
- Barn laid
- Free range.
Information about the minimum space requirements for hens in the different systems is available from the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of the Domestic Fowl (Appendix 1, page 26).
- Describe the features of the egg production system.
- What is the percentage of eggs in Australia produced by this system?
- Construct a table to present the advantages and disadvantages of this system.
- Make a judgement about which system you support, considering the welfare of the hens, the cost of eggs to consumers and the support provided for egg producers.
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