Animal Rights Coalition Urges Plataran to Commit to Cage-Free Eggs

JAKARTA - A total of 25 animal activists from the Act for Farmed Animals (AFFA) coalition held a peaceful demonstration in front of the City Forest Plataran, Jakarta, on Wednesday, October 8. They called for Plataran to immediately commit to implementing a cash-free eggs policy as part of the company's responsibility for animal welfare.

Activists carry banners that read 'Prison, end cages now' and wear chicken costumes as a symbol of their struggle. The costume depicts two sides of laying hens life: those who live freely and those who are locked up in narrow cages throughout their lives.

"Through this visualization, we want to show that chickens are also living things that have the right to move freely and carry out their natural behavior," said campaign leader Act for Farmed Animals, Elfha Shavira Thursday, October 9.

According to Elfha, AFFA, which is a collaboration between Animal Friends Jogja and Sinergia Animal International, has been trying to have a dialogue with Plataran management for the last four years. However, until now, there has been no official commitment from the company to switch to a free-range system.

In the action, the atmosphere was in the public spotlight after the Plataran logo at the event location was covered with cloth, and the billboard with the company's logo was lowered by local staff.

"As a large company known to carry an environmentally friendly concept, it shouldn't be difficult for Plataran to expand its sustainability principle to the aspect of animal welfare," said Elfha.

He explained that in the cage cage system, laying hens were locked in a very narrow space no bigger than a piece of A4 paper during their lifetime. These conditions make chickens unable to stretch their wings, perched, nested, or bath of dust, an important behavior for their welfare.

Various scientific studies show that this system causes stress, fractures, hair loss, to chronic physical injuries, he added.

Since 2020, AFFA has succeeded in encouraging 51 local and global companies in the food and hospitality sector to commit to implementing a free cage policy. They hope that Plataran Group can immediately follow these positive steps as a form of moral and social responsibility.

This is not only a matter of animal welfare, but also about ethical and sustainability values that are increasingly of public concern. Consumers now care more about the origins of the food ingredients they consume," concluded Elfha.