Kurinomi-en, A Social Welfare Corporation that Provides Employment Support for People with Disabilities is Cage Free

In response to an inquiry from Animal Rights Center Japan, Kurinomi-en, a social welfare corporation in Kamitakai district, Nagano, responded that all the eggs they use are already cage free and that they would support the cage-free declaration.

This is a social welfare corporation that provides employment support for persons with disabilities. They also do comprehensive agriculture, and they use cage-free eggs for sweets.

The owner said,

Naturally, I thought that cage rearing was bad from the beginning. After all, I think it’s important to switch from cage rearing to cage-free rearing for poultry farming. We are trying to spread cage-free rearing and settle it in the area. Specifically for the chicken feed, we’re collecting and circulating not the complete mixed feed, but various feeds in the region such as local rice and scraps from vegetable farming.  Historically, poultry farming was cage free in the garden before entering modern economy. It has become larger and larger due to modernization, and is stuck due to various problems such as bird flu. In cage-free rearing, chickens have immunity and resilience, so they are less likely to get bird flu, and the risk is lower than in cage rearing. Large-scale livestock is no longer sustainable. However, the current situation with the coronavirus is, in a sense, an opportunity, and I think it is an opportunity for many people to recognize the problem. I think it will change in various ways with the current COVID-19 and after COVID-19.

He kindly agreed to declare cage free.

What is cage rearing?

In cage rearing, which is the common rearing method for eggs in Japan, chickens are placed in cages and are overcrowded in order to prioritize productivity.

As a result, chickens are susceptible to illness due to lack of exercise, and drugs are used to prevent the spread of illness.

In Japan, over 90% of the farms use battery cage rearing.

It’s misleading to say that that’s healthy, and it’s definitely not natural.

Caged chickens

On the other hand, there do exist a few cage-free egg farms, which allow chickens to roam.

Cage-free rearing  (not the featured farm, another cage-free farm.)

Cage rearing is being abolished all over the world, but Japan’s animal welfare is currently far behind.

A simple thing we can do to reduce the number of hens who continue getting exploited in their cages and go through life immobilized is for the consumers to stop buying cage-reared eggs and eliminate your egg consumption.

People who become aware of the actual situations and make humane and ethical choices today are what will lead to a sustainable future.

Click here for a list of other cage-free companies and shops