THOUSANDS of hens will be emerging from their cages into the autumn sunshine and looking for new homes this month.

The British Hen Welfare Trust, based in South Zeal, is holding several re-homings over the coming weeks and would love to hear from anyone willing to save some lives.

The charity re-homes 50,000 ex-commercial laying hens a year, and has re-homed more than 590,000 hens to date. At 18-months-old they are sent to slaughter by farmers, but the British Hen Welfare Trust works to find homes for as many as possible so they can enjoy the rest of their lives as much-loved family pets.

A re-homing session is taking place in South Zeal on Saturday, September 23, with 214 hens still needing homes.

To find out more go to the website www.bhwt.org.uk