: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the response of the Centre and Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh governments on PILs against keeping egg-laying hens in battery cages as small as an A4-size sheet.
The order came on four petitions transferred here to the Delhi High Court by the Supreme Court. A Bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal issued notice to the Centre and the four states on pleas by two NGOs — Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) and the People for Animals — alleging that confining hens in small cages amounts to cruelty.
‘Animal cruelty’
The petition also highlights behavioural changes in the hens and how the hens start attacking each other once they are confined in such small spaces. It said the beaks are chopped off so that they are not able to attack, however, since the beaks have many nerve-endings, once they are cut off, the birds become disoriented.
In Europe, which follows the cage-free system, hens get space to move around and spread their wings, FIAPO has said in its plea.
