A RECORD-BREAKING hen has found a new home in Rugby thanks to the work of the British Hen Welfare Trust.
The clucky, lucky hen was adopted by the Elliott family as the 500,000th saved from slaughter and re-homed as a pet by the charity.
The Trust, which has been working to save hens since 2005, will ensure their half-a-millionth hen Dee – named as D represents 500 in Roman numerals – will be safe in her new home.
The Elliott family have promised free range retirement to Dee in honour of her record-breaking status.
Julie Elliott and her daughter Rosie, 5, said it will be a day they will always remember. Julie said: “All I could think was this is like something out of one of Rosie’s storybooks and I can’t believe this is happening to us.
“Thank you to the British Hen Welfare Trust from the bottom of our hearts, thank you, for choosing us to be Dee’s forever family. She is beautiful and such a sweet girl, we had completely fallen in love with her long before we even got her home.”
Trust founder Jane Howorth, who recently received an MBE for her work in the hen adoption scheme, said: “I have championed the battery hen since I was 17, they are the under-valued underdogs of the domesticated animal world in my view.
“I’m incredibly grateful to all the people that have helped us reach this milestone, especially our wonderful volunteers and of course the charity’s supporters who have adopted our gorgeous feathered friends over the years. The concept of hens as pets is now firmly on the map.”
The British Hen Welfare Trust helps to re-home hens and educates the public about hen welfare. They have even been instrumental in influencing food manufacturers to switch to free range eggs.
To find out more about re-homing hens or to support the work of the British Hen Welfare Trust, email [email protected], visit www.bhwt.org.uk or call 01884 860084.
