The Queensland government has quietly brought about changes to state regulations that will now ensure the end of true free range egg production in Queensland. The recent change to regulations of free range eggs, lifting the number of hens allowed per hectare from 1,500 to 10,000. The Queensland government has bowed to the pressure of the corporate giants and sold out Queensland family farms, the egg buying consumer and condemned hens to a life of factory farming misery. Up until now, Queensland was applauded for their regulations that stipulated only 1,500 hens per hectare for free range farms. Queensland egg producers actually had an advantage over the other states that allowed higher stocking densities for free range hens. South Australia has just followed suit and developed a free range labelling system for producers, stocking hens at 1,500 or less per hectare. Given the public outrage over the industrialisation of free range egg production and the current position on this issue by the ACCC, we are appalled that the Queensland government has made this move. The Queensland government has made a mockery of the Model Code of Practice and is effectively allowing the supermarket giants to act as regulators for the industry. There is no science and no social conscience behind the decision to destroy the Queensland free range egg industry. “In a perverse way the Queensland government has made it just that much easier to make the right choice when you buy free range eggs. When purchasing eggs at the supermarket, just look at where they are packed and boycott any free range eggs produced in Queensland,” says Lee McCosker from Humane Choice. If you are a Queenslander, buy your eggs from the independent supermarkets, butchers, green grocers or farmers markets, and only if they have an accreditation that ensures the eggs are truly free range. And sign this petition to take the laws back to truly free range less of than 1,500 hens per hectare.

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