- There are over 20 million battery hens in Britain alone currently laying cheap eggs for consumers' benefit.

- A hen enters a cage at 18 - 20 weeks and will remain in the cage for an average of 52 weeks before slaughter.

- Each hen has less space than an A4 piece of paper in which to move around, leaving: no room to flap and stretch, no means to dust bathe, no perch on which to roost and no nest to lay an egg in.

- 70% of eggs produced in the UK still come from battery hens.

- Only 6% are produced by barn reared hens.

- 24% are produced by free range hens.

- British Egg Industry Council figures show that on average a battery hen lays 310 eggs per year, a mere 15 more eggs a year than a hen that has been kept in barn or free range conditions.

-The RSPCA conducted a survey which showed that 86% of the public are opposed to the system.

Information from: http://www.thehenshouse.co.uk/factsandfigures.html