The ink is currently drying on a $287,500 settlement with regional egg producer Alderfer Poultry Farm over misleading "free-roaming" marketing claims 🥚 💪 ✨
Animal Outlook collaborated with We Animals to capture 360-degree drone footage of Alderfer's facilities, which provided conclusive evidence that some birds were completely confined indoors while others only had access to small, wire-floored "porches" that could accommodate merely a fraction of the facility's total bird population. This groundbreaking case marks the first known instance where drone footage has been used as evidence in a consumer deception lawsuit against an egg producer.
Animal Outlook also commissioned a survey of Alderfer's potential consumers; 93% believe that eggs labeled "Free Roaming" are laid by hens who have access to the outdoors at least once a day. When shown images of Alderfer porches, 82% of respondents did not consider hens who had no access to the outdoors beyond these porches to be "Free Roaming."
Alderfer eggs are distributed throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, including New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. Animal Outlook was represented by Richman Law & Policy. As part of the settlement, the company will cease using "free-roaming" claims across all marketing channels.
With the increasing accessibility of images and data, gathering compelling evidence has become more efficient and effective. We believe this enhanced capability strengthens our investigative and legal work and hope to encourage other farmed animal protection organizations to explore similar approaches within their countries of operation.
For more information, please click here: https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/alderfer-farms-eggs-lawsuit-animal-outlook-20250317.html