I've written an open letter to the shareholders of Craddock Farms Ltd who want to build one of New Zealand's largest egg factory farms. The proposed factory farm would keep 310,000 hens in cruel colony cages. Please sign if you share my concerns.

"To the shareholders of Craddock Farms Ltd; please do not invest in the proposed intensive egg factory in Patumahoe.

Farming hens in cages is extremely cruel, and treating hens as industrial equipment is not acceptable. Your proposal would confine hundreds of thousands of hens to indoor cages for their entire lives. Colony cages are only marginally more spacious than current battery cages. It is cruel to confine hens in crowded cages. They can't truly express any normal behaviour in colony cages, and would never feel sunshine on their backs or grass beneath their feet.

When hens are allowed outdoors, they take great joy in sunbathing, scratching and foraging, exploring and building nests. They are lovely creatures and deserve decent lives - even if they are being farmed.

Opinion polls show that the majority of New Zealanders do not approve of caged animal farming, with many people changing their buying habits and purchasing alternatives to caged eggs.  And New Zealand’s political opposition has committed to phasing out factory farming in the near future.

Investing in a new mega factory farm is a huge step backwards for us, both ethically and economically. 

Internationally, the EU outlawed battery cages in 2012.  Switzerland, Germany and Austria have already set phase-out dates for the colony cages that you want to introduce. By lagging behind more progressive nations, we risk our international reputation. In Australia, massive companies such as McDonald’s and Subway have recently committed to stop using caged eggs.  In New Zealand, Christchurch and Dunedin McDonald’s have already banned caged eggs, and the rest will surely follow soon. Considering international trends and the opinion of the majority of New Zealanders, a large investment into factory farming is high risk and incredibly unpopular.

The time has come to STOP building factory farms and I am prepared to join the movement against them. If you do attempt to build the proposed factory farmed egg facility, you must be aware that locals, consumers, activists, media and politicians will take action to save these animals from their lives of indoor caged misery. And so they should.

Intensive indoor caged farming doesn't have to be the future for New Zealand. Please reconsider, and select a better investment. Do not invest in more cruelty. 

Yours sincerely,

Shawn Bishop

The Animal Sanctuary"