Renthia Kaimbi
The African Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW), in partnership with the Open Wing Alliance held a workshop with media practitioners in Windhoek yesterday to highlight their campaign against caged chicken farming in Africa.
They described the practice as cruel and a threat to sustainable agriculture.
The groups aim to educate policymakers, farmers, and consumers about the welfare compromises of housing egg-laying hens and broilers in battery cages.
They say these systems are inappropriate from an animal welfare perspective.
The workshop also sought to equip journalists with knowledge to spread informed messages on the issue.
ANAW chief executive officer Josiah Ojwang said the rise in poultry and egg consumption in Africa increases the risk of adopting industrial farming practices that are being rejected elsewhere on ethical grounds.
“Farmers should avoid adopting intensified production systems that compromise the welfare of animals and take into consideration aspects like animal sentience. Chickens raised under stress and that experience vile transportation methods, for example, produce the worst meat,” he said.
The workshop detailed the reality of chickens confined in battery cages that restrict natural behaviour.
Experts highlighted welfare issues associated with battery cages, including severe stress, vent pecking during egg laying that causes injuries, feather pecking in overcrowded conditions, and limited movement leading to overweight birds prone to Sudden Death Syndrome.
Ojwang said the change requires both investment and consumer support.
“Every farmer invests for returns; however, free-range chickens and eggs are more expensive, as consumers are starting to understand their value. Purchase power can be more if consumers are sensitised. It is a matter of balancing,” he said.
ANAW and the Open Wing Alliance are calling on African governments to phase out battery cage systems and support a transition to free-range farming.
They also called on retailers and food companies to adopt cage-free egg procurement policies.
