British Hen Welfare Trust Antony is one of the patrons

Charity seeks Egg-lovers to crow about free range!

Interested in eating cake, guilt-free, for a good cause? Then read on! Friday 4th May, and the first Friday of every month thereafter, is FREE RANGE FRIDAY, when the nation is being asked to get together to enjoy free-range eggs in all their guises. Yes, that includes cake - or anything else made with eggs for that matter, be it quiche, pasta, biscuits, omelettes, pancakes, or ice-cream - as long as the eggs are free-range!

FREE RANGE FRIDAY is the brainchild of the British Hen Welfare Trust, a national charity which educates the public about how they can make a difference to hen welfare, and encourages support for the British egg industry. The awareness and fundraising campaign encourages people to think about where the eggs in their food come from, whilst having a get-together to raise funds to support the work of the charity.

Jane Howorth, Founder of the British Hen Welfare Trust, said:

“Our aim with FREE RANGE FRIDAY is to spread the word so that people actively choose free-range eggs when doing their shopping. As a nation, we care very much about welfare, and how the food we eat is produced;  many people choose free-range shell eggs, but how many people think to check the labels of processed food like ice-cream, quiche, ready meals and cakes? It is consumers who will ultimately influence welfare by the choices they make in their shopping basket.”

FREE RANGE FRIDAY got off to a cracking start on Good Friday when hen- and egg-lovers rolled up their sleeves, dusted down their recipe books and got baking! Easter cakes were raffled, children dressed up as Easter bunnies and cupcakes were devoured up and down the country!

By organising a FREE RANGE FRIDAY get-together, be it an office cake bake, brunch with neighbours, tea-time pancakes or a three course dinner party, you too can do your bit to spread the word. And of course, it’s a great excuse to tuck into a bit of cake…

Did you know?

•       3 billion eggs are processed in the UK every year (taken out of their shells and sold as liquid, dried or frozen egg to the food industry)

•       1 billion of these eggs are currently imported into the UK. Whilst British farmers have conformed to the EU regulations banning the old-style battery cages, many overseas countries are still producing eggs to lower welfare standards

•       Some EU countries, including Spain, France, Italy and Belgium continue to flout the rules and are still using the banned battery cages, putting British farmers at a serious commercial disadvantage

•       Illegal cage eggs must be sold within a non-compliant member state, but there is no law preventing the use of illegal eggs in processed foods, including ice-cream, cakes, quiche and ready meals, and being exported

•       The British Hen Welfare Trust has re-homed over 300,000 commercial laying hens to UK homes

Jane Howorth of the British Hen Welfare Trust tucking in on FREE RANGE FRIDAY

A FREE RANGE FRIDAY cake bake

To receive a FREE RANGE FRIDAY fundraising pack, with posters, leaflets, balloons, stickers, recipes, tips, ideas and everything you need to host an event please: email  freerangefriday@bhwt.org.uk

You can also check out www.facebook.com/freerangefriday  or Twitter @BHWTOfficial  or go to www.bhwt.org.uk

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LUCKY EASTER CHICK ‘PRINCESS KATE’ HELPS CHARITY CELEBRATE 250,000 HENS!

Cheers could be heard at the British Hen Welfare Trust as it reached a major milestone – the re-homing of its 250,000th ex-battery hen. The lucky hen was named ‘Kate’ - in honour of Kate Middleton - to mark the historic event! She was re-homed to the Dawson family from Middle Marston near Barnstaple, North Devon. Ian and Sally Dawson and their two children, Ben, 12, and James, 10, came along to a re-homing day at British Hen Welfare Trust’s headquarters in Chumleigh, Devon, and were thrilled to be presented with 250,000th hen Kate and a limited edition Eglu Chicken House, donated specially by Omlet for the occasion -  a new home fit for a ‘princess’!

The Dawson family are first-time hen keepers, although Mum, Sally, kept hens as a child. Even as a young girl she showed her entrepreneurial spirit by buying the hens’ feed with her pocket money and selling the eggs, at a profit, to her Mum and neighbours! Following in his Mum’s footsteps, youngest son James, 10, will be responsible for the three ex-battery hens they have re-homed (named ‘Kate’, ‘Lizzy’ and ‘Feathers’).  James has been swotting up on caring for hens by reading library books, and has been helping Dad, Ian, build a new chicken run in their back garden for the girls.

Ten year old James said: ‘We really liked the idea of re-homing chickens so we can give them a good life after they’ve spent a year in a cage laying eggs’.

The family likes to buy ethically produced food wherever possible, and keeping their own hens felt like a logical next step. Dad, Ian, is passionate about keeping fit, so consumes large numbers of eggs – sometimes eating a hearty breakfast of five poached eggs after training! He’s really looking forward to collecting eggs fresh from their own hens, while Sally believes that cakes she’s made with free-range eggs from her neighbours’ hens turn out better and swears that ‘the cakes come out higher and have a better colour!’

Sally added: ‘You can go and buy hens anywhere, or get some really fancy breeds, but for us, it was the appeal of giving some ex-battery hens a good home and nice life after the life they’ve had’.

Jane Howorth, Founder of the British Hen Welfare Trust, which re-homes commercial laying hens, educates the public about how they can make a difference to hen welfare, and encourages support for the British egg industry,  presented the 250,000th hen to the Dawsons. Jane said: ‘I’m over the moon that the charity has grown so much over the last six years; the support of the British public has been phenomenal. It just goes to show how much we, as a nation, care about welfare and about how the food we eat is produced. The challenge now is to spread the word so that people actively choose free-range eggs when doing their grocery shopping – not only by buying free-range shell eggs, but also by searching for free-range eggs in processed food, like ice-cream, quiche, ready meals and cakes. Reading food labels and only choosing free range can make a big difference to the quality of life for hens like Kate.’

Patron of the British Hen Welfare Trust, and passionate hen-keeper Julia Kendell, of BBC1's 'DIY SOS' and ITV's '60 Minute Makeover' fame, sent a message of congratulations to the charity, saying:  ‘What an incredible achievement! A massive well done to Jane Howorth and her team at the British Hen Welfare Trust for giving 250,000 lucky hens the chance to live a happy life, loved and cared for. Here's to 500,000!!’

Under the Dawson family’s loving care, Kate is now happily settled in to her new retirement home, enjoying her new found freedom and basking in the lovely Easter sunshine.  A very lucky princess indeed!!

The British Hen Welfare Trust is a national charity that re-homes commercial laying hens, educates the public about how they can make a difference to hen welfare, and encourages support for the British egg industry. Its ultimate aim is to see consumers and food manufacturers buying only UK produced free range eggs, resulting in a strong British egg industry where all commercial laying hens enjoy a good quality life.

To find out more or to support the work of the British Hen Welfare Trust please email info@bhwt.org.uk , log on to www.bhwt.org.uk or tel: 01769 580310

Left to right: Dawson family: Ben, Sally, James with lucky hen ‘Kate’, Ian, and British Hen Welfare Trust Founder, Jane Howorth.

CHARITY CELEBRATES 200,000 HENS!’

Corks popped at Devon-based charity the British Hen Welfare Trust as its 200,000^th hen was re-homed on Saturday. Founded in 2005, the charity has since found homes for over 200,000 ex-battery hens which were otherwise destined for slaughter. 

Aptly named ‘Fizz’, the 200,000^th lucky hen has been re-homed to 8 year old hen-enthusiast Sam Bradley from Ivybridge near Plymouth. Sam, who wants to be a farmer when he grows up, has been interested in chickens from an early age – he saved up his 6^th birthday money to buy rescue hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust and has been hen-mad ever since.

Sam said: “I really love chickens. I collect their eggs every day when I come home from school. Their favourite food is spaghetti, sweetcorn and worms. If it wasn’t for the charity, the chickens would be killed.”

Jane Howorth, Chief Executive of the British Hen Welfare Trust said:

‘Rehoming 200,000 commercial laying hens like Fizz is a big milestone for the charity and a great achievement. But it’s the tip of the iceberg... in the UK, there are some 16 million battery hens kept in cages where they cannot perform natural behaviours such as scratching, stretching their wings or nesting, and they have no access to sunlight, fresh air or grass.’

She continued: ‘It’s increasingly clear that consumers will pay a little extra for free range products and we encourage support for British free range farmers.  Less clear is the fact that a high percentage of eggs from caged hens are often hidden in food such as ice-cream, ready meals and cakes. Reading food labels and only choosing free range can make a big difference to the quality of life for hens like Fizz.”

Under Sam’s loving care, Fizz is now happily settled in to her new retirement home and is enjoying her new found freedom. Apart from enjoying the free-range fun in Sam’s garden, she is already laying delicious eggs for the family to enjoy!

To find out more or to support the work of the British Hen Welfare Trust please email info@bhwt.org.uk , log on to www.bhwt.org.uk or tel: 01769 580310
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Devon-based charity the British Hen Welfare Trust has just announced a change of name to more accurately reflect its pro-British stance.

Formerly known as the 'Battery Hen Welfare Trust’, the charity re-homes commercial laying hens, educates the public about hen welfare and encourages support for the British egg industry. Now called the British Hen Welfare Trust, Antony is one of their patrons. Read their latest press release.