The British Hen Welfare Trust (formerly the Battery Hen Welfare Trust) is the United Kingdom's first registered charity solely for laying hens. It was founded in April 2005 by Jane Howorth, and was established in order to raise awareness of the 20 million hens kept in cages in the UK at that time. Its activities include collecting hens which have reached the end of their commercial lives and re-homing them as pets. The charity's headquarters are near Rose Ash, North Devon.

Aims

The aim of the charity is to reduce consumer demand for caged (

factory farmed Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...

) eggs, while encouraging support for the British egg industry. This also includes educating consumers about processed foods which contain eggs, such as: cake, pasta, chocolates (

fondant Fondant is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes gelatin and glycerine are used as softeners or stabilizers. There are numerous varieties of fondant, with the most basic being poured fondant. Others in ...

filled), quiche, ready-made

Yorkshire pudding Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common British side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compon ...

s, ready-made pancakes, biscuits, ready meals (

TV dinner A frozen meal (also called TV dinner (Canada and US), prepackaged meal, ready-made meal, ready meal (UK), frozen dinner, and microwave meal) is a packaged frozen meal that comes portioned for an individual. A frozen meal in the United States an ...

s), and noodles. As of 2016, approximately 46% of UK battery eggs are used by food manufacturers and in the leisure industry. The BHWT re-homes thousands of ex-commercial hens every year across the UK with the help of its volunteers. In 2021, the charity was made up of 12 employees, 5 trustees, and over 900 volunteers. The cumulative total of hens re-homed reached 500,000 in 2016, 840,000 in 2021. and 900,000 in 2022. All the hens are taken out of the farms and re-homed the same day. This means they can go from cage to backyard pet in as little as a few hours. The charity wants hens to be viewed as pets, rather than livestock, and regularly promotes the benefits of keeping hens as pets through national and regional PR. The BHWT regularly talks about the joy of seeing a hen in daylight for the first time. These birds have never sun bathed, dust bathed, nor stood on solid ground before. The Trust seeks to work and cooperate with farmers instead of condemning them. It does not concur with any extremist views or tactics and is not associated with any other organisation or group linked in any way to battery hens. Patrons of the charity include Bob Mortimer,

Jamie Oliver James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants. Oliver reac ...

, Pam Ayres,

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...

, the Duchess of Richmond,

Kate Humble Katherine Mary Humble (born 12 December 1968) is an English television presenter and narrator, mainly working for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. Humble served as President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Bi ...

Philippa Forrester Philippa Clare Ryan Forrester (born September 1968) is a British television and radio presenter, producer and author. Throughout her career, Forrester has presented shows such as CBBC, ''Tomorrow's World'', Crufts, ''The Heaven and Earth Show'' ...

, Julia Kendell, Jimmy Doherty and

Antony Worrall Thompson Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson (born 1 May 1951) is an English restaurateur and celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster. Early life Worrall Thompson was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. His parents, Michae ...

Campaigns and awards

The Trust has successfully campaigned to change the food industry, playing a part in

Hellmanns Hellmann's and Best Foods are American brand names that are used for the same line of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sauce, salad dressing, condiments and other food products. They have been owned by the British multinational company Unilever sin ...

making the switch to using only free-range eggs in its mayonnaise. Jane Howorth, the charity's founder and chief executive, was appointed

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to battery hen welfare.

References

External links

* * {{EW charity, 1109060 Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Charities based in Devon 2005 establishments in England

Aims

Campaigns and awards

See also

References

External links