NON-Governmental organisations want breeding of chickens in battery cages abolished saying it is cruel and leading to the spread of zoonotic diseases.
The call was made by the Africa Network for Animal Welfare, Nurture Imvelo Trust and the Open Wing Alliance.
Battery cages are a housing system used primarily for egg-laying hens.
The name is derived from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected in a unit, like those in an artillery battery.
Speaking at a media workshop on chicken farming in Bulawayo yesterday, programme manager for Africa Network for Animal Welfare Josiah Ojwang from Kenya said caged chicken farming is a cruel practice.
“Battery cages are very cruel to the chickens; they compromise the welfare of the chickens. You would realise that cages were banned in Europe, and why should we allow them here in Africa?” Ojwang said.
“This is where the media comes in because it is influential. As the media, you have a huge role to play to sensitise the public so that they rethink the issue of usage of battery cages in chicken farming. They are cruel and oppressive and keeping chickens in cages is not compassionate."
Open Wing Alliance spokesperson Sebastian Mwanza castigated the use of cages for chicken rearing.
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“The media has a powerful role to play in advancing this campaign so that we remove the chickens from of these oppressive cages. The method violates animal freedoms.
“The media should come up with adequate ways to set the agenda so that the masses get to know about the effects that battery cages have on chickens in southern Africa. It is an inhumane practice that is very oppressive to the chickens.”
Nurture Imvelo Trust director Sanele Ndlovu said animal freedoms were being violated through use of battery cages.
“This includes the freedom of normal behaviour, pain and injury, and freedom from distress and discomfort.”
Ndlovu said caged chicken farming posed a health threat to human beings as battery cages can facilitate the spread of zoonotic diseases such as the avian flu.
A veterinarian, Felistas Ndlovu, urged the public to prioritise animal welfare and ensure that they are treated in the most humane manner possible.
“Animal welfare is a responsibility that must be shared by government and people who own, care for, and use animals, educational systems, veterinarians and scientists so that werelieve animal suffering,” Ndlovu said.
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