Exposé of Tokyo Olympics Egg Supplier Reveals Hens’ Widespread Suffering

For Immediate Release:
May 13, 2021

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Whistleblower footage has revealed rampant abuse and horrifying neglect on a chicken farm belonging to ISE Foods, Japan’s largest egg producer, which is certified to sell eggs at the Tokyo Olympics, causing PETA to call on the Tokyo Organizing Committee to sell only vegan egg substitutes at the 2020 Games.

The new PETA Asia footage shows dead chickens left to rot alongside survivors as well as live birds covered with open sores. Some hens died slowly after getting trapped under a food trough, while others had prolapsed reproductive tissue protruding out of their bodies—a condition caused by an inadequate diet or the strain of being forced to lay far more eggs than would be natural. Multiple birds are shown crammed into each dark cage at the farm with nothing but bare wire flooring to stand, sit, and lie on. Each bird is allotted less space than a letter-size piece of paper, and many are missing feathers, which experts say is a result of stress-induced self-mutilation or of fighting for space.

“PETA’s exposé is more evidence that cruelty is always involved when animals are raised factory-style,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “The Olympics should not serve the world’s top athletes or anyone else eggs from filthy vendors when vegan protein options that are clean, healthful, and animal-friendly are available.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. Broadcast-quality video footage is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.