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The RSPCA endorses both barn-laid and free range eggs through the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme. People who buy eggs carrying the RSPCA logo can trust that hens are being treated to the RSPCA's high animal welfare standards. Consumers should make sure the eggs they buy are certified by a trusted authority, like the RSPCA.

RSPCA-Approved eggs are a great choice because all our farms undergo a stringent and regular inspection process to ensure our strict welfare standards are being met. Just look for the RSPCA logo on the egg carton.

What constitutes free-range?

The RSPCA believes a proper free-range environment should provide hens with sufficient space to express their natural behaviours and all hens should have access to the range for at least eight hours a day.

Access to the outdoors should be easy, through good-sized openings or pop holes; the outdoor area should have lots of space and palatable vegetation for foraging as well as adequate shelter and secure fences to keep out foxes, rodents and other predators.

Pictures on egg cartons don't necessarily reflect how eggs were produced so to be sure consumers are getting what they pay for, they should check that the eggs they are purchasing are audited against publicly available standards.

What's needed most is a nationally consistent legal definition of the term "free range" and other such terms that imply improved animal welfare standards, as well as much tighter regulation. That way, consumers can be sure that their choices in the egg aisle will have a positive impact on hen welfare.


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