A protest has been held outside NSW Parliament House today calling on Adam Marshall, the NSW Agriculture Minister, to support a proposed phase-out of battery cages for hens. This comes as recent documents revealed Adam Marshall was going against the advice of his own department and opposing new hen welfare standards before he had even seen them.
Over sixty supporters came together to hear from Abigail Boyd from the NSW Greens, Emma Hurst from the AJP, alongside animal welfare groups World Animal Protection, Animals Australia, and Humane Society International Australia about the need for industry reform.
Rochelle Flood, Campaign Manager, World Animal Protection said:
“It’s safe to say MP Adam Marshall has been left with egg on his face after showing his complete lack of genuine consideration on this issue, opposing new hen welfare standards in March, before even seeing them. This is as more than nine million layer hens suffer in battery cages every year, with less space than an A4 piece of paper.
“Right now, the Minister is blatantly ignoring expert advice and putting at risk a national process for hen welfare reform, blindly supporting the cage egg industry and a cruel and outdated industry practice.
“Our politicians need to realise that the public don’t want to see layer hens in cages.
“NSW has the most layer hens of any Australian state, and its support is crucial to ensuring new welfare standards are adopted.”
Why did the chicken cross Macquarie Street?
To raise awareness of the plight of layer hens in Australia.
Demonstrators were also spotted dressed as giant chickens, clucking with the public on the issue of egg reform.
