MALAYSIA, 25 September 2024 – Sinergia Animal, an international animal protection NGO, has uncovered distressing conditions within farms in Malaysia from which major retailer Zenxin sources its eggs. The investigation (www.ZenxinSuffering.org ), conducted in recent months, reveals laying hens living in cramped cages and unsanitary environments, contradicting the company’s claims of a 100% organic production chain.
“Zenxin is a leading producer, distributor, and retailer. They are a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and are certified by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA). With this evidence, we confirm that Zenxin’s supply chain includes battery cages, a system not permitted under organic standards. It is one of the cruellest animal farming systems, and the conditions are unsanitary. This is a tremendous contradiction for the company and represents misleading information for Malaysian consumers,” says Carolina Galvani, Executive Director of Sinergia Animal.
Malaysia’s long road to animal welfare
According to the NGO, these investigations expose the hidden reality of the Malaysian egg industry. Throughout their lives, hens are confined in small cages, limiting their ability to exhibit many natural behaviours crucial to their species. They suffer from frustration, stress, lack of exercise, and painful bone diseases. Barns have no proper ventilation, and the animals are forced to live in cages with heaps of faeces accumulating beneath them.
With increasing scientific evidence about the welfare concerns of battery cages, several countries worldwide, including the European Union and some US states, have banned or started phasing out conventional battery cages. According to the Asia Cage-Free Benchmark, a report assessing governments’ progress in cage-free transitions across the region, Malaysia scored the lowest of 17 countries, with 4 out of 140 points.
