The clinical term masks a gruesome reality. “Ventilation shutdown plus” (VSD+) is the primary “culling” method that’s been used to kill over 160 million birds in the wake of bird flu outbreaks.

What does VSD+ mean? It means sealing off airflow in barns, pumping in heat, and leaving birds to die by overheating and suffocation.

Take a moment to think about the reality of dying this way. The air is getting hotter and hotter. You’re panting in an attempt to keep cool. Your whole body feels weak. As your organs begin to fail, you hear cries of terror and distress all around you. You realize this is where you will die.

The pain, fear, and distress these birds likely experience is unimaginable. The process involves shutting down ventilation and pumping in heat, spiking temperatures to above 104°F. Death—likely from multiple organ failure—can take hours.

Why use VSD+? Because it’s cheap and convenient for the egg industry. That’s it.

From Australia to the United States, egg prices are through the roof. The industry blames bird flu. But mounting evidence suggests a more disturbing possibility: Some egg companies may have used the outbreak as a convenient cover for price gouging.

Hundreds of millions of birds have been slaughtered—many of them killed by ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+), a process that seals off barns, pumps in heat, and slowly cooks birds alive. Shoppers are feeling the pain at the checkout line. And meanwhile, egg producers are raking in record profits.

Investigations spanning several months suggest that some egg companies may have used the outbreak as an excuse to hike prices far beyond what the crisis justified. Did the industry seize the moment to take advantage of customers? Amidst concerns that price increases may have been calculated to maximize revenue at the public’s expense, the US Department of Justice has launched an ongoing investigation.

This is corporate greed at its ugliest: exploiting people and animals alike, all for the sake of maximum profit.

For years, factory farms have packed animals into filthy and overcrowded barns, fueling the rise of deadly viruses. Now, we’re seeing the consequences.

Veterinarians, animal welfare experts, and industry professionals are sounding the alarm: We’ve never seen anything like this avian flu before. The outbreak is historic, continuing to spread rapidly among millions of wild and farmed birds—and now, in herds of dairy cows.

But the dangers extend beyond animals. In a sobering development, bird flu cases are being reported in humans. Experts warn that we could be on the cusp of the next pandemic.

Cramming thousands of stressed, immunocomprised animals into a small space is a recipe for disaster. Factory farms have long gambled with our safety, packing sick, stressed animals into viral breeding grounds. All while reaping massive profits… and leaving the public to deal with the fallout.

Around the world, governments hand billions of dollars in subsidies and bailouts to industrial egg producers, often with little transparency or accountability.

Japan heavily protects its egg farmers with high tariffs and direct payments, while India helps farmers by paying for some of their supplies, like fertilizer or electricity, which lowers production costs. In the United States, more than $1 billion in taxpayer money has gone to egg companies in the wake of bird flu outbreaks. These are the same companies that have killed millions of birds using ventilation shutdown plus (VSD+)—a process that essentially “roasts animals alive.”

While hens are left to suffer and die in agony, these companies report record profits. Their CEOs earn millions. Their shareholders cash in. And you’re footing the bill.

Public funds shouldn’t prop up industries that exploit animals and abuse the public’s trust—all while everyday people struggle with soaring food prices and mounting economic pressure.

Your tax dollars should support the public good. Not the cruelest, greediest corner of agribusiness.

Imagine being trapped in a crowded subway car. No space to move. No fresh air. No relief. And no way out.

At this very moment, that’s life for billions of caged hens around the world. Crammed into filthy wire enclosures, as many as 10 birds spend their entire lives packed together into a space the size of a filing cabinet drawer. That leaves each hen less space than a sheet of printer paper on which to live her entire life.

Day after day, month after month, she stands there. She’s unable to stretch out her wings or even stand with her head fully raised. Her feet ache against the wire flooring, and the cage bars rub painfully against her skin and feathers. Her most basic instincts—like laying her eggs in a nest, or scratching in the dust—are denied to her.

She’ll never see sunlight. She’ll never know life without suffering. And she’ll live that way until the day she’s slaughtered.

Our global investigation exposed all of this cruelty and more. Injured animals trapped and suffering, without relief or veterinary care. Hens paralyzed by “cage layer fatigue”—a condition that leaves bones brittle from the demands of constant laying—and unable to reach their food and water. Hens living among the rotting carcasses of other birds. The facts are clear: these cages are one of the cruelest inventions humanity has ever inflicted on animals.

Corporations shouldn’t be allowed to say one thing and do another. Can’t we all agree?

In response to calls from thousands of outraged people like you, the vast majority of food companies have promised to spare hens from cruel cages by 2025. They set their own deadlines. They gave themselves a full decade to make good on their commitments.

And 2025 is here. So why are hens still suffering in cages?

Although many companies have followed through on their cage-free commitments, others are making excuses—delaying implementation, while the days and weeks stretch on for hens trapped behind bars. When companies benefit from empty promises, animals end up paying the price.

This year is perhaps the most pivotal year yet in the global shift away from cages. It will reveal whether companies’ cage-free egg commitments were promises made in good faith—or just empty words.

Animals deserve better. Customers deserve better. Companies must be held accountable to their cage-free commitments.