14-year-old Lucy Gavaghan of England is on a mission to stop the sale of eggs from caged hens. She convinced major British company Tesco to agree to end the sales of “caged eggs” by 2025, ande sh isn’t finished yet. She’s now targeting British companies Asda and Morrisons, and if you want to help you can sign her newest petition here.
Gavaghan worked for a few years to stop the sales of caged eggs by writing letters to politicians and supermarkets, but felt that no one was listening. She knew there would be others in the world who, like her, also wanted to stop the sales of eggs from caged hens, so in February 2016, she started a Change.org petition. In total, 280,278 people signed the petition.
Related: Kid sisters raise $800,000 with origami to dig water wells around the world
Gavaghan met with Tesco’s head of agriculture in May. She said after the meeting, she didn’t really think they would change their policies, but this month finally received a call. Tesco said they’d “stop selling caged eggs by 2025.”
While the European Union banned putting hens inside battery cages in 2012, the industry began to use “enriched cages” instead. But Gavaghan says the hens still don’t have enough space in those cages – only around the dimensions of an A4 paper (that’s around 8 by 12 inches).
Gavaghan said in her first petition, “I have five hens myself, two of them are ex-commercial barn hens and one of them once lived in commercial colony cages. They are amazing animals to be around. Keeping my own hens and knowing their past has made me determined to end caged and barn farming…These methods of egg farming are cruel, unnatural, and inhumane.”
After her success with Tesco, Gavaghan plans to ensure they keep their word and is now targeting other grocery stores that still sell caged eggs, Asda and Morrisons. About a week ago she started another Change.org petition, and has already racked up 176,697 supporters. You can add your name to the petition here.
+ End the sale of eggs from caged hens in Morrison’s and Asda
Via The Telegraph
Images via Lucy Gavaghan (1,2)
