The barbaric days of battery egg farming should well and truly be over in today's supposed civilised society.  But it is not. The dirt cheap price of battery (cage) eggs is not the only cost - consumers who choose to buy battery farmed eggs are shielded from the cruelty by the pretty packaging which often alludes to happy and healthy hens willingly laying their eggs.  The reality is so very different. Until the NZ Government has the guts to outright ban battery (and barn) egg farming I want to see a requirement introduced for battery farmers to feature prominent photographic evidence on their packaging of the conditions the battery farm hen is forced to live in.   These sentient animals are denied the most basic of conditions.  How can we be comfortable allowing this to continue to exist?  The ultimate show of kindness and respect towards animals is to go vegan, but at the very least why not free range?