Animal rights protesters sat in cages on Tuesday to attract attention to the conditions in which chickens are kept to produce eggs in Japan. They were holding signs, saying “Be a champion for animals, don’t eat eggs”, urging athletes not to eat the eggs provided at the Olympic Games Tokyo.
Animal rights group People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) accused ISE Foods, one of Japan’s biggest egg producers, of mistreating chickens. PETA published a video in May which they say was filmed in one of ISE Foods’ production farms showing hens crammed into cages, unable to walk and some very sick.
They said that the cruelty seen in the video “is not an isolated incident, since footage from egg farms all over the world, including in the U.S., has repeatedly revealed similar cruelty to hens”.
According to PETA, ISE Foods will provide eggs for the Tokyo Olympics, starting on Friday. In a statement made over the phone to Reuters on Tuesday, ISE Foods Inc. denied the accusations of mistreatment.
The Animal Reader is an animal news website. Become a Friend of The Animal Reader and support animal journalism.