Burnbrae is Canada’s biggest egg company.
They still keep hens in tiny cages, and mislead consumers about it.
Burnbrae marketing looks
something like this...
Burnbrae egg cartons show a smiling egg, grassy fields, and sunny skies.
But the hens that laid those eggs live trapped in small wire cages, inside industrial barns.
Here’s how most Burnbrae hens REALLY live—confined in small wire cages.
These are actual photos from Burnbrae Farms. But you won’t see the truth about caged hens on egg cartons.
Consumers are heavily misled by Burnbrae’s sneaky marketing, according to a new survey from Animal Justice and Bryant Research.
Many people FALSELY believe Burnbrae hens live cage-free, and buy their eggs for this reason.
Photo Credits: Burnbrae's YouTube Channel
When shown Burnbrae’s “Naturegg” packaging,
ONLY 7%
CORRECTLY ANSWERED that these hens are held in small indoor metal cages.
When shown Burnbrae’s “Nestlaid” packaging,
57%
of consumers INCORRECTLY BELIEVED the hens lived cage-free.
60%
of consumers were UNAWARE that Burnbrae’s term “enriched colony housing” means indoor metal cages.
Learn More About the Issue
Over 50% of Burnbrae’s hens are confined inside tiny wire battery cages, also known as conventional cages.
These wire cages are so small that hens can barely move, and can’t even spread their wings. Each hen lives in a space roughly the size of a sheet of paper, and cannot engage in any normal behaviours like dustbathing, perching, scratching, or nesting.
Canadians overwhelmingly want egg companies to go cage-free, but instead, companies like Burnbrae are transitioning to what they call “enriched” or “furnished” cages. Burnbrae plans to transition out of conventional cages by 2036, and put hens in “enriched” cages instead.
The egg industry claims that enriched cages are an improvement. But the truth is they’re barely distinguishable from conventional cages. They’re larger battery cages that offer limited “enrichments” like perches, hanging flaps for a “nesting area”, and scratch pads—but they fail to address the core issues, or give hens any meaningful freedom.
Conventional and enriched battery cages are both horrible for hens. That’s why many countries, US states, and food companies have banned cages altogether.
Photo Credits: Abigail Messier / We Animals Media // Photos of enriched cages in British Columbia, Canada
