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Carl Scott locked in a cage for battery hens - Source: Close Up
The battery hen protester who has been living in a cage in east Otago for the last month is coming out of confinement today.
Carl Scott has been staging his demonstration outside Mainland Poultry in Waikouaiti for 31 days.
He hopes his act of living in a cage will encourage people to make submissions to the Draft Code of Welfare for Layer Hens.
The former territorial soldier and slaughterhouse worker says a new animal welfare advisory plan to increase chicken cage sizes does not go far enough.
The submission period closes today.
Scott, who is a vegan, said that "animals should have the best life possible while they're alive" and that what he was doing was designed to raise awareness.
"It is designed to get people's attention, but there's also another level of the message behind the stunt and that's what I want people to see," he said.
Scott says he is now looking forward to a hot bath, a soft bed and the feeling of being free, but says that the experience has made him really appreciate just how harrowing and cruel cage systems are for animals.
"It is time for New Zealand to take a serious stand for the welfare of hens and ban all cage systems."
While the effects of severe confinement have taken their toll on Scott, both physically and mentally, he remains philosophical.
"Empathy and courage are like muscles. The more we exercise them, the stronger they grow."
Scott's protest has also gained world wide attention, with his Facebook page receiving more than 750,000 views.
Online fans praise Carl as a "hero", "champion" and a "king among men."
To read the draft code click here.
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