THE CHANGE IS HAPPENING
Asia is the largest egg-producing region in the world.
Ditching cages in the egg and food industry would impact the lives of millions of hens.
The change is happening
Asia’s cage-free egg production has gained momentum in recent years.
Many companies and producers have adopted cage-free policies in response to increasing consumer demand for better welfare for laying hens.
These commitments came from various industries, including hospitality, retail, restaurants, and packaged goods.
IN 2025 SINERGIA ANIMAL AND OTHER NGOs HELPED ACHIEVE:
14
Commitments
in Asia
7
Global commitments
WHY ARE BATTERY CAGES CRUEL?
Lack of space
Up to 12 hens can be crammed together into one small cage. This usually means each one of them has a space smaller than an A4 sheet of paper to spend their whole lives in.
Frustration
They cannot express their natural behaviors, such as spreading their wings, walking freely, or nesting.
This deprivation leads them to feel constantly frustrated.
Pain
They tend to have bone diseases such as osteoporosis, making them prone to fractures and deformations. They stand on the cage metal grid, which hurts their feet.
Death and filth
Sometimes, dead hens are left to rot for days, forcing the surviving hens to live next to the decaying bodies of their peers. Sanitary conditions are also deplorable. Hens are often kept in tiny cages with their droppings accumulating beneath them.
Public health
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that cage systems have a higher prevalence of Salmonella compared to cage-free systems.
Beak trimming
Trimming chicken beaks is a common practice in the egg industry. The consequences in some chickens is that it generates neuromas with chronic pain throughout their lives.
Cage-free systems have great potential to reduce animal suffering. However, in both cage-free and cage systems, male chicks are shredded alive after only a few hours of life because they don't lay eggs and, thus, are of no use to the industry.
Also, in poorly managed cage-free systems, animals can become stressed and begin to peck, which can result in outbreaks of feather plucking or even cannibalism. Further, in cage-free systems, hens are sent to the slaughterhouse when they no longer produce enough eggs.
These are just some of the reasons why we dream of and advocate for a world in which no animals are exploited for food in any way.
A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE
The risk of salmonella contamination in cage environments is significantly higher than in cage-free farms.
The disease causes 155,000 deaths worldwide yearly, 85% of which are estimated to be foodborne, and up to 94.8 million cases of acute gastroenteritis.
WHAT IS A CAGE-FREE POLICY?
A growing number of companies have pledged to stop sourcing eggs produced in battery cage systems and publish cage-free policies on their websites, social media, or other communication outlets.
1
Company uses eggs in their products or sells eggs.
2
a. Company publishes a cage-free commitment pledging to only use or sell eggs from cage-free farms.
However, clear targets and progress tracking are necessary to ensure that commitments are being fulfilled by the promised deadlines—and, if not, companies must be held accountable.
3
Company starts implementing changes and moves gradually towards using 100% cage-free eggs by a set deadline.
4
Cage-Free Tracker monitors implementation and holds companies accountable.
b. If a company does not want to publish a policy, NGOs like Sinergia Animal work with dialogue and mobilization campaigns to ask them for a commitment.
75.8% (72 companies) of cage-free commitments in Asia are due in 2025, but 56.9% of these companies still fail to report meaningful Asia-specific progress.
Corporate silence cannot replace action. We urge companies to publish real updates, honor their pledges, and accelerate the transition away from battery cages.
Asia deserves transparency. Animals deserve better.