RIGA, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- An online petition calling on Rimi, one of Latvia's largest retailer chains, to stop selling eggs laid by caged hens, has gathered over 4,000 signatures in a few days, Latvia's Animal Freedom nongovernmental group informed.
The petition was launched after animal rights activists from Latvia's neighbor country Lithuania released video footage of Lithuania's chicken farms that supply eggs also to the Rimi chain, which sells them as one of its private-label products.
The video, shot at the chicken farms in the Lithuanian villages of Ausieniskes and Kausenai, shows laying hens in a downright poor condition, with damaged plumage, visible injuries and infested with parasites.
Representatives of Animal Freedom noted that this is the second time that public attention in Latvia is called to animal welfare issues in the poultry industry. In late 2016, the NGO reported very similar problems at chicken farms of Latvia's leading egg producer Balticovo.
Reacting to these reports, the Latvian Food and Veterinary Service conducted extraordinary inspections at the Balticovo farms but found no serious violations of animal welfare standards.
