The Story
The majority of the Australian public agrees that confining egg producing hens in tiny cages for their short life is cruel and unnecessary. A growing number of people are seeking out alternatives such as the still questionable free range and barn-laid options while others are choosing to live without eggs altogether. However, despite this obvious consumer push, our governments are lagging behind other parts of the western world, such as Austria, Sweden and Switzerland, in the introduction of new laws to ban the use of the disgraceful battery cage. Many people are unable to fully empathise with the plight of these caged beings because the lives of hens in cages are so removed from their own reality. Our solution is to display in public spaces around Australia a series of oversize battery cages large enough to house human volunteers, in order to vividly and realistically convey the cramped and inhumane conditions these birds suffer in. This unique installation will be situated outside art galleries and other public areas where permission has been obtained to allow a great number of people to be exposed to the truth, maintaining an effective level of confrontation and informative education. Members of the public will also have the opportunity to explore and participate in an installation art display they have heard about through the media. Overall, we believe this approach will provide the greatest opportunity to allow battery hens more freedom, by raising awareness of the public, distributing quality information and collecting petition signatures. Three cages make up the custom-built cage display, which in total measures approximately 3.8m long, 1.4m deep and 1.5m high. Weighing in at a total of 150kg we've also built a trailer for the cages to travel on for ease of setup and removal. The internal area is approx 1.2m wide x 1m high x 1m deep - "plenty of room" for 3 - 5 people to sit in for a few hours, just like our caged friends experience every day of their lives. The equivilent cubic area would actually hold more than 50 battery hens per cage
(Animal Care and Protection Regulation 2002 (Qld), Div2,Sub2 Sections 6 & 10).
Parliament Lawns, Hobart (with 2 cages on display)
At either end of the row of cages, posters will display large photographs taken from a modern Australian battery farm, clearly drawing the connection between the reality of battery farming and the conditions the volunteers are experiencing. Read about A Hens Life for information on egg farming techniques.
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