They’re also one of the greatest sources of animal suffering around the globe.

Leading animal welfare scientists have decried the battery cage as “cruel and inhumane.” According to studies, it’s responsible for 60% of the suffering a hen will experience in her lifetime. And since roughly four billion hens are caged globally, the battery cage is the direct cause of immense suffering for a mind-boggling number of sentient beings.

But in just over a decade, we've more-than tripled the number of egg-laying hens living free from a battery cage. As of 2023, 40% of hens in the US live in cage-free housing.

This graph reflects current USDA numbers, accounting for a 2021 adjustment to the historical data.

By getting hens out of cages, we lay the groundwork for future reforms in factory farming.

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• Grew to 90+ member organizations in 70 countries

• Distributed $2,381,147 in grant funding to 40 OWA member groups

• Secured 89 new corporate cage-free commitments and 44 commitments to end the worst abuses of chickens raised for meat

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This was incredible news for any animals whose products might be sold in California. But even better, the verdict meant that voters and legislators were free to create policies to protect animals in their own states.

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With groups like Animal Friends Jogja in Indonesia advocating for new government standards for egg-laying hens, powerful public awareness campaigns in Taiwan, and new cage-free commitments in Thailand, OWA member groups are making major strides for animals across Asia and the Pacific Islands.

In Asia…

• 10 new corporate cage-free commitments secured by the OWA
• 78 companies reported progress or fulfilled their cage-free commitments

To meet the growing global demand for cheap food, African countries are facing pressure to industrialize their food systems. An estimated 61% of the region’s egg-laying hens are housed in battery cages, with hundreds of millions more at risk of becoming trapped in cages—as foreign investors attempt to resell discarded battery cages from Europe and North America to African multinational corporations.

But already, OWA members have convinced roughly a third of African multinational companies to spare the millions of hens in their supply chains from life in a cage.

In Africa…

• 2 new corporate cage-free commitments secured by the OWA
• 6 companies reported progress or fulfilled their cage-free commitments

Thanks to the relentless work of THL UK and our European OWA members, there are nearly 600 cage-free commitments on the continent, and already 60% of hens in the European Union are free from cages, compared to 40% in the US.