A few days ago, some shocking images were previewed on Rai 3 in the program “Guess who comes to dinner“By Sabrina Giannini. To shoot the video (now published and available to everyone) is Be animals, that once again shows us Hell of the chickens in a cage.
These are brutal but necessary images, a punch in the stomach that aims to awaken consciences and push towards a change that can no longer be postponed.
The reportage, the result of a under cover work carried out between December 2023 and February 2024, he brought to the open what happens daily in a farm in the province of Venice, where 60,000 hens are confined to metal cages to produce eggs. The infiltrate of being animals has documented a cross -section of suffering that represents the raw reality that hides behind 35% of the hens raised in Italy.
The images confirm what has actually been known for some time: the possession in the cage of the hens constitutes a systematic violation of animal welfare. In his 2023 report, the European food security authority expressed an unequivocal judgment, declaring that these confinement systems seriously damage the psychophysical health of animals, preventing the expression of natural behaviors and generating chronic stress and unjustifiable sufferings.
Documented atrocities
The video shows in a very raw way all the problems related to this production model: dead hens left to rot among those still alive, episodes of cannibalism and birds that knead among the decomposition corpses while depositing eggs that will end up on our tables.
It is not an imaginary dystopia, but The shocking reality that is hidden behind millions of packs of eggs sold in our supermarkets.
The investigation has documented a scenario that exceeds any imagination: volatiles afflicted by neurological disorders such as the Wry Neck, “Torcicollo”left to twist among the metal bars, unable to reach water and nourishment, in the act of violation of the regulations on animal welfare.
No less shocking is the high presence of stool and dirt, which contributes to the spread of diseases and infections. The animals, forced to live in a narrow space, develop aggressive and unnatural behaviors and the lack of adequate veterinary treatments further aggravates their suffering.
The end of the production cycle then marks the beginning of a new ordeal. The transfer to the slaughterhouse takes place with unprecedented brutality: the hens are thrown into the transport coffers, grabbed for a wing or pushed violently, causing fractures and injuries to organisms already devastated by widespread osteoporosis, a consequence of forced immobility and genetic selection for intensive production.
The videos of being animals do nothing but confirm what was already seen in previous investigations on other farms of ovary hens.
The documentary pathological behaviors – from the self -commutations to the loss of the plumage caused by the continuous rubbing against the metal networks – are not isolated cases but inevitable consequences of an anachronistic production model that modern science has already condemned without appeal.
Faced with these images, it is impossible not to question the real price of a low -cost egg and on the production system that continues to perpetrate these atrocities in the name of profit. A collective reflection is needed, a change in consumer choices and a decisive intervention to end this legalized barbarism.
*** Attention strong images ***
If you are particularly sensitive, avoid watching the video!
Not only cruelty on animals
In addition to animal suffering, other serious problems have also emerged in this Venetian company. Thanks to the complaint of being animals, the carabinieri of the Venice Work Inspectorate Unit raid the structure and the necessary checks led to heavy penalties for the use of irregular labor and violations of the workplace safety rules.
The investigation also revealed an alarming hygienic-sanitary framework and some citizens of the local community have protested for unpleasant odors and the massive presence of insects. The question therefore transcends the ethical area: the EFSA has in fact highlighted how caged farms have a high risk of salmonella contamination compared to alternative systems, configuring a potential danger to consumers.
A ban is necessary
Chiara Caprio, spokesperson to be animals, comments firmly:
The filming made over three months, during ten days of documentation, reveal structural problems intrinsically linked to the farm in cage, aggravated by the systematic negligence of the operators.
The organization, actively engaged in the End the Cage Age international campaign, invokes A definitive prohibition of cages in farmsa practice that still holds 40 million animals in Italy between chickens, pigs, calves, rabbits and other birds, despite nine out of ten Italians declare themselves against these production methods.
Slovenia’s recent decision to ban the cages for the ovary by 2028 shows that a transition is possible. Being animals urges Italy to follow this virtuous example, supporting breeders willing to adopt more respectful systems, in line with the evolution of public sensitivity and with the quality of Made in Italy.
Signs of hope from the European Union
A positive note comes from Brussels, where in 2024 a commissioner dedicated to health and animal welfare, the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi was appointed for the first time. The commissioner confirmed that in 2026 new legislative proposals will be presented to reform the Community legislation on animal welfare, with particular attention to the elimination of cages.
In a recent meeting held in February 2025, Várhelyi said that:
The revision of the European legislation on animal welfare is an opportunity to respond to citizens’ requests and increase the competitiveness of the sector. It is an opportunity to build a better system for everyone. After the dialogue between the parties involved which will take place during this year, we should already have the first legislative proposals regarding the Ice End the Cage Age in the next year.
What consumers can do
Waiting for politics to do its part, we consumers can exercise immediate influence through our daily choices:
We can no longer pretend that you don’t know. Each purchase represents a political declaration that can contribute to dismantling this system of institutionalized suffering that perpetuates daily behind the bars of intensive farms.
