In the early hours of Sunday April 27, 2003, Swedish animal rights group "Bye Bye Egg Industry" entered the Gimranas Inc. hatchery, the largest chicken breeder in Sweden, and one of the  largest in the world, and destroyed machines responsible for hatching and brooding millions of eggs each year. The Bye Bye Egg Industry activists committed this action openly, with the purpose of preventing thousands of hens being born to a life full of agony. As a direct result of the action, 42,000 eggs just a few days old were cooled down, meaning that over 20,000 hens were never born to a life of suffering. The activists face four years in prison but are likely to receive a lesser sentence.

Official statement from Bye Bye Egg Industry

In the early hours of April 27, we made our way into the Gimranäs hatchery outside of Herrljunga, the largest breeder of laying hens in Sweden. Our purpose was to stop the breeding, and in doing so reduce the suffering of the tens of thousands of hens who leave the Gimranäs factory each day. Through our actions, tens of thousands of hens were spared being raised to a life of misery. A life in which they would have been treated as nothing more than egg-machines to make money from, instead of as the feeling individuals they truly are. 

The egg industry long ago stopped caring about how chickens feel. This is very obvious when you study the breeding methods being used, which from the hens' point of view is terrible. The hens are being bred to lay as many eggs, and as large sized, as possible, with the minimum amount of feed and in the shortest possible amount of time.

The intense lighting of many chicken farms manipulate the chickens furthermore into laying more eggs. If you compare todays modern layinghenbreeds to the "original" jungle hens, from which modern day hens are descended, you'll see that they lay eggs at a speed which is over twenty times faster than what would be natural. And nothing indicates that the egg industry will ever be satisfied with the speed of the laying.

All this of course negatively effects the chickens' health. Diseases of the egg producing organs, such as salpingitis are common. Injuries in the cloaca are also common, which often causes other hens to peck at the wound. A recently published dissertation from SLU (Farming University of Sweden) establishes that the high laying speed  means that chickens no longer have enough resources to handle stress. These are only a few examples. Today's egg industry is in practise incompatible with the paragraphs in the animal protection-laws about how animals "shall be protected against unecessary suffering and  disease" (§2) and that they are to be given "possibilities to act naturally" (§4).

We are saying that we can't just stand by and watch this go on. We are also saying, that it's not enough to protest and to try and influence consumers and politicians. It is necessary that we actively intervene on behalf of the chickens, and stop the ongoing animal oppression.

Our actions will be called undemocratic by some. The question we would like to ask then is if the animal farming of today is democratic. Is it democratic decisions which have led to the chickens that today lay eggs at a totally unnatural speed? Is it democratic decisions that have put millions of chickens in cramped cages? The answer is no. These decisions have been made by the animal industry, with one purpose: To make as much money as possible. We are saying that the egg-production of today, is a logical consequence of the economical system we live in, where companies want to maximize their profits no matter what.

But we can get rid of the animal industry if we want to. We can create a world where animals are respected as the feeling individuals they are. We no longer have to eat meat, milk and eggs to survive. It works splendidly to live as a vegetarian. We are also saying that as long as animals are being treated as merchandise, this is an ethical necessity.

By our actions we hope, apart from our main goal to reduce the suffering of the chickens, to shed some light on the oppression of animals in the egg industry, and inspire others to to do something for the animals. We are prepared to deal with any legal consequences that may come from our actions. The situation the animals face is to us such an important issue, that we are ready to go to jail for what we believe in - our suffering would be very small compared to that of the animals. But at the same time, we will always say that we have done nothing wrong and that the animal industry, and not us, should be prosecuted, for its systematic oppression of the animals.

Johan Jaatinen, Hanna Ekegren & Daniel Hedqvist
Bye Bye Egg Industry

Translation from Swedish: Sofia Leander

The Press release
HATCHERY RENDERED HARMLESS - BROODING MACHINES (SETTERS) DESTROYED

In the early hours of Sunday the 27th of April, a hatchery in the South of Sweden was rendered harmless. Brooding machines (setters) and other equipment used for nursing eggs, bred to produce battery hens, were put out of order. This is the most forceful action taken so far to put an end to the ongoing misery of caged battery hens - and other hens as well - in Sweden. The animal rights group "Bye Bye Egg Industry" consisting of, Daniel Hedqvist, Hanna Ekegren and Johan Jaatinen, takes full responsibility. This was an act of civil disobedience, done openly, with the purpose of preventing thousands of hens to be born to a life full of agony.

The hatchery Gimranäs Inc, in the outskirts of Herrljunga in the West of Sweden, breed about 90% of chickens that are used in egg production in Sweden. It is estimated to be the 11th biggest hatchery in the world. Daniel Hedqvist and Hanna Ekegren entered one part of the complex in the town Hudene, and at the same time, Johan Jaatinen broke in to another part in the town Fåglavik. In the buildings they started destroying machines and equipment used for hatching and brooding millions of eggs each year.

The activists left a letter to the workers, explaining why they felt obliged to take action and that they doing so were not to be taken personal but to be seen as an attack of the egg industry as a whole. To emphasize this, the group left coffee and a vegan cake (dairy and egg free) together with the letter, at both of the factories.

As a direct result of the action, 42 000 eggs just a few days old were cooled down, which means that over 20 000 hens were never born to a life of suffering. Since no alarm was triggered in the smaller factory in Fåglavik, all the machines there were destroyed completely and resulted in a shutdown for several weeks, according to the owner of Gimranäs Inc.

- Our action prevented thousands of hens to be born into a life of misery. A life there they would only be seen as egg-machines to profit from, not the individuals they really are, says Hanna Ekegren, jack-of-all-trades.

- The bred hens of today grow twenty times faster than what would have been natural. Obviously this affects their health in a negative way. They suffer from increased risk of disease, foot and claw damage and bone weakness, just to name a few, Daniel Hedqvist, biology student of Stockholm University pronounces.

Ekegren and Hedqvist were arrested at the hatchery as the burglary alarm went off. Jaatinen was not discovered during the night but was taken to the police station the following morning when he was leafleting about the action in Gothenburg city center. The group spent two days in isolation cells at the police station but was later set free as the prosecutor did not find enough reason for them to remand in custody. The loss of machinery and eggs is estimated to about SEK 2 000 000 (US$ 240 000). A date for the trial will be set in a few months. They risk at most four years in prison, but a more likely sentence is a few months in prison plus becoming liable to pay the damages.

Contact: byebyeegg@raddningstjansten.org

Images of the machines can be viewed at http://www.chickmaster.com