Endangered Eggs

FALSE ADVERTISING

Easter is around the corner - which means the inevitable rise of bucolic imagery used to advertise eggs.  But neither eggs - nor the birds laying them - are experiencing any green pastures with gamboling lambs, painted shells or pastel-coloured egg-shaped bunting in the real world.

In terms of numbers, chickens are by far the UK's most common bird (currently around 40million of them are laying eggs as I write, with millions more broiler hens cooped up in warehouses!).  But they didn't get there by hopping around a sunny barnyard and letting nature take its course. 

The processes humans have created to create chickens' eggs are no miracle story - and are well documented on many other sites.  But in short, all commercial egg laying hens right here in the UK are intensively bred and fed to grow deliberate physical anomalies that make them more prolific and regular layers of infertile eggs - because that's what fulfils supermarket orders - which in turn fuels humans' insatiable penchant for egg-based goods.

This means birds' health suffers as a result of just their shape and size, and the frequency with which they are expected to lay (some animal welfare sites claim this is 18 times the natural annual yield of a hen) - before we even get into their environmental (and psychological) conditions.

In nature a female hen can live anywhere between 5-12 years - but commercial egg laying hens last only 18 months-2 years in the UK before they expire.  Many of them are bred to lay months before they would in nature.  Almost all are artificially inseminated so they will begin to lay.

Any resultant male chicks from this first insemination are of no use to the egg industry at all as they cannot lay - so they are killed shortly after birth in huge numbers.  I won't detail the methods used here, as they're pretty horrifying - but it's not something you'll see on any supermarket Easter ad.  And definitely not bucolic.

RARE SPECIES EGGS

Of course we don't generally eat endangered species' eggs - so they're spared at least that horror story.  But there is a huge market for collecting them, particularly for sale in the Middle East where many raptors for example, are illegally bred for hunting and sport/gambling - or kept as exotic pets.  Prolific thieves have been found simply hoarding thousands of rare breed eggs in their homes - one in Norfolk had amassed almost 3000 stolen directly from nests, including nightjars, linnets, house sparrows, turtledoves and yellowhammers.

As humans encroach on habitats, wild predators such as foxes, rats, badgers etc...are forced from prior feeding grounds into ever-closer contact with nesting sites, where eggs and young birds are taken.

And intensive industry and farming methods mean nesting birds (especially ground nesting species) are at risk of egg damage by equipment and chemicals.  In a recent report by the Zoological Society it was found that 'forever chemicals' used in industrial processes, chemical crop sprays, and farming 'run-off' were weakening the shells and embryonic integrity of species such as oystercatchers, peregrine falcons, and curlews.

And of course humans remove woodlands and hedgerows too, leaving fewer safe spaces to lay in the first place.

For species already on the brink of extinction, this spells utter disaster.  No eggs: no future generations.  

 

EGG STUDS

I decided to add endangered eggs to my collection, and have designed two simple stud earrings to begin with - Hen Harriers, and Bewick Swans. 

Bewicks lay almost opalescent white eggs that I've chosen to replicate in a highly polished mirror finish.  Harriers lay more mottled eggs - but also very pale in colour.  So these studs have also been polished smooth, and decorated with a subtle feathering of oxidisation.

I'll hopefully be expanding awareness by adding to these over the coming months with other breeds - so keep your eyes peeled!

I've launched the new pieces to coincide with Easter - not because I want to spoil anyone's fun - but because I believe that we all have a duty to really know what we are buying, eating - and being told about the commercial products we consume - when it is most pertinent.

The best of it is, their subtle design means that they are easy to wear at any time of year -  and you get to decide whether to pair them with the matching pendant, or as a stand-alone piece.  You could even grab a couple of pairs to mix and match! "How trendy!", as my mum would say!

 

Visit the Birdlife collection to learn more - and I (honestly!) hope you have an enjoyable Easter weekend, if celebrating it is something you like to do!