People don’t like being trapped inside a cage. Even for a few seconds. It’s a traumatic experience that Serviceplan Campaign International used in NYC’s Grand Central Station to highlight the cruelty of cage farming for World Animal Protection US and Serviceplan Campaign International.

The campaign, called Your Turn, aims to raise awareness about the poor conditions farm animals are held in and encourage people to help farm animals live cage-free lives and consider animal welfare when purchasing meat.

In the experiment, Serviceplan put locks on the people-height turnstiles in Grand Central Station. As commuters tried to enter the platforms, they were locked inside a cage-like structure similar to the conditions faced by the majority of factory farmed animals in the United States. The New Yorkers experienced being caged only for seconds. Farm animals experience being caged 24 hours a day, every day.

Thomas Heyen, executive creative director & partner, Serviceplan Campaign International commented, “Once a human being forms a habit, it’s a long way to change it. You need drastic measures to open the eyes of the consumer. Especially when it comes to addressing problems like factory farming.”

The US eats more meat per capita than almost any other country – 122.5kgs per person, per year. This demand forces more and more animals into overcrowded factory farms with detrimental impacts for animals, people and the environment. More than nine billion chickens are raised for food in the US, the vast majority in overcrowded sheds where they never see the light of day. They are bred to grow abnormally large resulting in short, painful lives. An estimated 95% of pigs are raised on factory farms where three out of four mother pigs spend almost their entire lives in a cage, unable to care for their piglets and interact with their fellow pigs. For these social, intelligent animals this is a life of torture.

Alesia Soltanpanah, executive director, World Animal Protection US, added, “Factory farming is the largest form of animal cruelty in the world. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Serviceplan to develop this experiment to raise awareness of the suffering that billions of animals experience every day in the United States.

“This project will assist us in furthering our goal to end factory farming. Industrial farms are the single largest cause of global warming and the conditions in which animals are raised leads to the routine use of antibiotics for animals and the rise of superbugs. Higher welfare farming is better for animals, people and the planet.”

The experiment was filmed and turned into an online video, directed by Niklas Warnecke from Instant Waves, with amusic composed by 2WEI Music. The film links to the World Animal Protection US website where people can make a donation or find out more about the work of the charity.

Credits:

Lead agency: Serviceplan Campaign International
Chief Creative Officer: Alex Schill
Executive Creative Director: Thomas Heyen, Markus Kremer
Art Director: Sine Marie Harwits Hansen
Copywriter: Melis Adigüzel
Account Director: Saskia Kroschewski
Production Company: Instant Waves
Director: Niklas Warnecke
Music Production: 2WEI Music