Mercy For Animals Commends Second Cup for New Cage-Free Egg Policy

Canadian Specialty Coffee Company Commits to Using 100 Percent Cage-Free Eggs, Wins High Praise From Animal Welfare Group

TORONTO, March 28, 2016 /CNW/ - Today Second Cup Ltd., which boasts 310 cafés across the country, announced a commitment to improving animal welfare by switching to 100 percent cage-free eggs in its entire supply chain by 2020. The move, which will spare countless hens a life of suffering in tiny wire cages, has been applauded by the international animal protection organization Mercy For Animals, which collaborated with Second Cup to develop this policy.

Caged egg production is inherently cruel and widely considered one of the most egregious forms of animal abuse. Hens are stuffed into wire cages so small the birds can't walk, fully spread their wings, or engage in other natural behaviours for nearly their entire lives. Many birds become trapped and painfully mangled in cage wire or under feed trays and often suffer and die. Dead hens are left to rot alongside birds still laying eggs for human consumption.

Battery cages are so patently cruel they have been banned by California, Michigan, and the entire European Union. There is also an effort underway in Massachusetts to ban both the production and sale of eggs from hens confined in these cruel cages.

The following statement can be attributed to Krista Hiddema, managing director of Mercy For Animals in Canada:

We commend Second Cup for joining the ranks of other socially responsible restaurants that have pledged to eliminate cruel cages from their egg supply chains. This praiseworthy policy from Second Cup will reduce the suffering of countless hens each year.

With Second Cup's announcement, it's never been clearer that the days are numbered for companies that sell eggs from hens packed into cages so small the birds can't walk or even fully spread their wings. Any food company that has not yet adopted a cage-free egg policy is simply out of step with consumer expectations and business trends.

To learn more about MFA and its efforts to help farmed animals, visit MercyForAnimals.org.

SOURCE Mercy For Animals

For further information: Krista Hiddema: 416-666-3093