Ohio is home to two institutions who are at odds, Mercy for Animals, and one of the largest and most influential restaurant chains in the world, Wendy’s. Mercy for Animals has started a petition telling Wendy’s to stop abusing birds used to provide eggs for the international chain.
Reportedly, 305 million hens are used for their eggs every year, and though some are raised on sustainable, responsible farms, it is estimated that over 90 percent of them are subjected to despicable conditions.
Though a growing number of their competitors and other food establishments have vowed to reject eggs from hens kept in wire cages so small that the birds cannot spread their wings, walk, or engage in other natural behaviors that free-range chickens do, thus far Wendy’s has turned a blind eye and continued to support the practice through purchasing eggs from factory farms who raise ill-treated hens.
McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, and Panera Bread have all committed to using only cage-free hens for eggs within a certain time line – but not Wendy’s.
Foodservice giants Aramark, Sodexo, and Compass Group have made similar commitments, and some states have even outlawed these types of cages for hen raising.
Because the space is so cramped, many birds become trapped and painfully mangled in the cage wire or under the feed trays. Many suffer and die a painful death due to the conditions in which they are raised, and worse – dead hens are forgotten and left to rot alongside birds still laying eggs for human consumption.
Birds also have to survive open wounds, eye infections, tumors, and uterine prolapse. Few receive proper veterinary care. Deprived of any comfort, these intelligent, sensitive animals are treated as nothing more than egg-producing machines.
It’s time Wendy’s listened to its consumers and competitors. Please sign this petition asking Wendy’s to stop cramming birds into cruel cages and to set a firm deadline for going cage-free.