Registered Charity No
1147356
At its core, the British Hen Welfare Trust’s work aims to improve the lives of laying hens, both within the commercial sector and for those lucky birds who are rehomed with a loving family.
Founded in 2005 by Jane Howorth MBE, the charity has to date rehomed more than 900,000 hens who were otherwise destined for slaughter.
However, from what began as a rehoming charity, the BHWT has gone on to achieve so much more and is now considered an important voice within the commercial egg laying industry and among pet hen owners.
Not content with rehoming tens of thousands of hens each year, Jane made it her mission to influence the general public’s shopping baskets which, in turn, directly impacted welfare conditions for egg laying hens, and still does today.
In addition, she soon realised that the healthcare pet hens were being offered once out of the commercial system was severely lacking, and so was born the charity’s improving pet hen health project.
A free six-week poultry course, created in collaboration with the University of Nottingham, is now available for vets and pet hen keepers alike, and on the way is a Poultry Veterinary Guide which can be used in vet clinics across the UK to directly improve pet hen treatments.
Hen keepers who may need advice on any aspect of hen keeping, from healthcare to housing, can call the BHWT’s free Hen Helpline and speak to one of its experienced team members for support.
Helping hens isn’t just limited to those in the UK however; the charity branched out in 2020 and now has a sister charity in France which has to date rehomed over 32,000 hens. In addition, the BHWT is often included in international press coverage, and its website regularly has visitors from across the world.