Activists not cagey about hens' plight

Saturday May 19 15:19 AEST

Just for your information, Drew Fryer has never laid an egg.

But after three months cramming himself into a cage up to eight hours a day to raise awareness of the plight of battery hens, he understands if you ask.

"We've calculated that we've probably been asked that about 2,000 times," Fryer says of the inevitable question faced by his fellow animal activists.

"A lot of (people) actually work out immediately after they've said that ... they go 'oh I bet everyone says that'."

Fryer is travelling the nation with the Human Battery Cage, an installation artwork designed to show the public the cramped conditions caged birds are subjected to for the production of eggs for human consumption.

Since February 22, the Sydney-based activist and his fellow volunteers have taken their project through Australia's southern states to encourage a ban on the battery cage.
Adding an additional component of discomfort, the crew has driven to all locations including the far-flung cities of Perth and Hobart.

"We're generally either sitting in the cages or we're driving somewhere else," Fryer told AAP.

"We're not doing too badly so far, which is sort of a bit of a surprise to me because you get the occasional ache and pain. Well, actually not so much occasional."

Currently in Melbourne, Fryer said the project had received wonderful support to date.
"The vast, vast majority of people are really on side to what we're doing," he said.

Human Battery Cage creator Shane Dalgleish said consumers deserved to be informed.

"The 10 million hens kept in battery cages in Australia each have a floor space smaller than an A4 sheet of paper and never get a chance to stretch their wings or to see the light of day," he said.

"We hope that by putting ourselves in their position, we can draw attention to their plight."

The project will spend the next week in Melbourne before "migrating" north for the winter.

More information is available at www.humanbatterycage.com