The poultry industry also contributes about Rs 26,000 crore to the national income annually and is poised to grow further as the sector expands to more and more semi-urban and even rural areas.
In 2018 India was producing around 90 billion eggs per year and will soon reach 100 billion and was the third-largest egg producer in the world.
But in recent years, the sector has come under scrutiny for what can be described as questionable and outright illegal practices.
An investigation carried out by Animal Equality, a Pune-based animal rights group in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, has exposed the extent of the sufferings the hens go through in the commercial farms.
According to Amruta Ubale, the Executive Director of Animal Equality, the majority of the egg production in India happens in farms which uses wired cages, which is also called battery cages, which is stacked one upon another to save space and maximize productivity.
This she said has far-reaching consequence both for the hens and the industry.
"In a battery cage, a hen typically get a space of almost the size of an A4 sheet paper. It has to share the cage with other hens which are also locked inside in a crowded place. This includes the birds which are sick That is not just all since the cages are stacked one upon another with no bottom, all the excrement will pile up, sometimes even for weeks. This can cause infection and skin disease to the hens" Ubale said.
“The use of any sized cage, in essence, violates what is known as the Five Freedoms*, as they don’t enable the animals to express natural behaviors and make the animals uncomfortable, fearful and distressed, as well as more susceptible to diseases. The Supreme Court in its order dated 7th May 2014 embedded ‘Five Freedoms’ in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 thereby making it mandatory,” she added.
Since the hens cannot move their bodies to become weak and often have their toes deformed due to repeatedly rubbing against the wired cage.
Ubale said they have been campaigning for years to get battery cages banned in India, like the EU and some states in the US.
She said they have been working with the government and those in the industry to encourage a cage-free system.
“We also work with food companies and egg producers and request them to move away from cages. Many food companies have started sourcing eggs from cage-free farms and some egg producers have also started expanding their cage-free facilities, proving that this initiative is here to stay. Now we only hope the government also supports this initiative by phasing out cages,” she said.