WOW really nice website!!!
So here's what Jane Howorth sent me:
Hi Kelsey
Lisa has forwarded your email about wanting to start up a similar initiative to ours here in the UK. The charity has grown rapidly here; the hens are the most wonderful ambassadors and we are really making a difference to caged production without upsetting the industry, which is key to our success. We have received several enquiries from overseas and below is a general overview on how we operate. I would be very happy to help you, but hopefully without sounding pompous - would like to emphasise that it is incredibly time consuming and needs absolute commitment. I also think it would be helpful if you could give me a bit of info on your background:
your skills and strengths
do you have a network of friends to help you start
do you have any ideas as to how you can start
do you have facilities to hold hens albeit for a very short time whilst you re-home them
do you have any knowledge of the industry, whats your view on the industry
in short a broad outline of your intentions.
I only ask in order that I can perhaps guide you effectively, sorry if it sounds like an interrogation! Heres the general info:
I started the charity in 2005 by placing one advertisement for 100 hens and since then have found good homes for 145,000+ (we do turn people down). Each year we have doubled the number re-homed, with over 60,000 coming out of their cages in 2008. Whilst good news for the lucky few, this number of course represents only a tiny fraction of those birds held in cages. We have 18,000,000 here in the UK. However, what the re-homing initiative has enabled us to achieve is significant:
· We have gained approved access to over 40 farms nationwide and built increasing trust and co-operation between us and farmers
· We have opened positive dialogue with the industry as to how improvements can be made to welfare (they approve of our re-homing initiative)
· We have been able, through a great deal of positive publicity, to reach millions of consumers encouraging increased support for the free range sector
· We have drawn some excellent celebrity support, including Charlize Theron, Prince Charles and Jamie Oliver, who is now our Patron and an advocate for free range farming
I definitely believe the initiative could be equally successful in the US opening up opportunities to save thousands of laying hens and, even more importantly, giving you an opportunity to educate consumers on how they can influence market trends which in turn would help millions more hens.
We dont concur with extremist activities, believing consumers (not politicians, industry or extremists) hold the key to improving welfare for all laying hens. Our work is often seen as pioneering as we aim to build a bridge between welfare and commerce rather than judge the UK industry. By looking at the issues facing the industry, we have been able to build strong and trusting relationships focusing on how we can help increase free range production rather than the imposition of more regulation on caged production which often results in little welfare gain.
Through our re-homing initiative we circulate promotional material; we also give talks etc. However, without doubt, the hens themselves are proving to be the best ambassadors and every small group of hens we home (they often go in 4s and 6s), influences not only the adopters, but their wider family members, neighbours, friends and work colleagues thereby becoming a powerful way to spread a positive campaign message.
Nobody, as far as I am aware, has ever re-homed end of lay birds before on the scale we are doing and this in itself initiates extraordinary media attention we recently filmed with a TV crew from South Korea. I understand there is a growing interest in S Korea in welfare and provenance. During the course of filming we interviewed a local battery farmer who was happy to give an interview on the history, present and future of UK egg production inside his caged unit
such is their trust that we work to mutual benefit. Breaking down these old barriers of mistrust is key to our success.
Id be happy to help you try to get started, whilst its hard work (its taken over my life!) I have never been happier and never ever get tired of hearing about happy ex-bats that are now enjoying a free range retirement! Did I mention the feedback from re-homers? Its simply wonderful!
I look forward to hearing back from you and if you would like to follow our initiative, let me know. If you decide its too much, thats fine too Im sure there are other ways we could work to mutual benefit for the hens. Finally I think Lisa mentioned that I have also been approached by Animal Place based in California; I will be hopefully talking to them later this week.
Kind regards
Jane Howorth
Founder
BHWT
