McDonald's responds to thousands of people calling for an end to battery cage cruelty with a commitment to phase out cage eggs.

In the wake of growing community pressure and an intensive public campaign, the landmark commitment announced today reflects a growing corporate trend: cage eggs are bad for hens, and bad for business.

McDonald's has just confirmed that it will begin phasing out cage eggs across all of its 900 Australian restaurants. As the fast food industry's biggest egg user, this is a big win for people power — and an even bigger win for hens.

After years of failed talks with McDonald's, Animals Australia had no choice but to go public about the company's failure to keep pace with international shifts away from the cruel cage egg system.

For 87 consecutive days, the most common theme on the McDonald's Facebook wall has been concern for hens — and encouragement for the fast food giant to free them from cages.