Charity Celebrates 200,000 Hens!

Above: BHWT Chief Exec. Jane Howorth (right) celebrates with colleagues.

Corks popped at Devon-based charity the British Hen Welfare Trust as its 200,000th 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 200,000th 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 6th 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 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , log on to www.bhwt.org.uk or tel: 01769 580310