Relieve laying hens from cruel battery cages.

Currently, most egg-laying hens live their whole lives crushed in battery cages where they can't move or spread a wing. These cages are so cruel that they have been banned by the European Union, as well as by California and Michigan. Next week, the House of Representatives will vote on HR 3798, an Amendment based on a historic agreement between the Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers. HR 3798 will replace battery cages with enriched colony cages, where hens will have more space and can express some natural behaviors. Egg cartons will be labelled, saying whether they come from caged, enriched caged, cage-free, or free-range hens. This measure also facilitates interstate commerce for farmers who currently face a patchwork of standards. Hens I've met live free on small farms and stables, and I love them; they are sweet, friendly, social, and sensitive; they can be funny and also brave, in protecting their chicks. I can't bear to think of hens just like them tortured their whole lives in battery cages where muscle, bones, and minds atrophy. We have a historic chance to change that; please help! Egg producers, animal advocates, veterinarians, scientists, and consumers all agree, it's the right thing to do!
Please sign your support right away, as the House of Representatives may deliberate and vote as early as July 11. Ask Congress to vote HR 3798 into law.