Carnival’s recent pledge to end its use of battery cages also marks a huge win for the movement to end the abuse of animals raised for food. With all three titans of the cruise ship industry agreeing to source cage-free eggs, the momentum to end cages is growing stronger—spreading from restaurants and bakeries on land, to ships on the high seas.
What is Carnival?
With a fleet of nearly 100 ships spanning ten different cruise lines, Carnival is the largest cruise company in the world. Traveling all around the globe, Carnival’s vessels serve an incredible 85% of the world’s cruise passengers. Founded in 1972, Carnival first committed to going cage-free by 2025 back in 2015. The company’s 2020 report on sustainability mentions its intentions to go 100% cage-free by 2025, and its recent pledge affirms its promise to eliminate cage confinement from its supply chain.
How is Carnival’s global policy good for chickens?
With its new policy, Carnival is poised to end its use of one of the cruelest practices in animal agriculture: the confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages.
Factory farms pack anywhere from four to ten chickens in these tight, wire cages. Often, the cages are no bigger than a filing cabinet drawer, leaving each bird less than a single square foot of space to occupy. The intensive confinement prevents hens from engaging in any of their natural behaviors—unable to bathe their feathers in dust, perch on roosts above the ground, stand at their full height, or even stretch their wings without hitting another bird.
Battery cages force egg-laying hens into a life of misery. Not only do they subject hens to the psychological trauma of having to repress all of their natural behaviors, they also cause chickens to experience debilitating injuries. The wire mesh floors, constant collision with other birds, and lack of space to move all cause chickens’ bodies to break down in real time. Undercover footage of typical industrial egg farms shows birds with deformed feet, covered in painful lesions, barely able to support their own weight. The evidence is clear: confining chickens in these conditions is nothing short of inhumane.
It doesn’t have to be this way. As more and more consumers express concern for animal welfare, companies are eliminating cruel cage confinement from their supply chains. With Carnival’s new policy, more chickens will be spared the physical and psychological anguish of life in a battery cage.
What does Carnival’s global policy on animal welfare actually say?
When it comes to animal welfare, transparency and accountability are paramount. Some companies make vague claims about going cage-free without actually following through their promises—a move that misleads consumers and perpetuates animal abuse. However, Carnival’s Global Policy on Animal Welfare demonstrates a clear commitment to eliminating battery cages from its supply chain. The company set out a plan with incremental targets to help meet the goal of sourcing 100% cage-free by 2025, and it pledged to disclose its actual progress towards cage-free sourcing every year until then.
Serious animal welfare policies like this one translate into serious impact for animals. Carnival’s decision to go cage-free has the potential to spare countless chickens from battery cages. And, now, all three major cruise lines have withdrawn their support from factory farms which make use of this horrific, outdated practice, allowing more chickens to spread their wings than ever before. Thanks to compassionate consumers and changemakers like you, a cage-free future is on the horizon.
How can I help?
Carnival’s decision to go cage-free is a momentous win for egg-laying hens around the world, bringing us one step closer to ending the use of cruel battery cages entirely. Until then, we’re going to keep fighting for every hen who is forced to experience this unimaginable cruelty. When we demand better, together, we can create incredible change for animals. Join our movement to end cages worldwide.
Aaron Ross
