my grandfather lived down the road from a 'free range' egg producer. it was the local battery hen farm...apparently there is a loop hole that if they cant make the free-range quota (which is in itself not free-range...the egg corporation rates free range as 6 chickens to a standard cage as opposed to 12 ITMS) then they get the supply from the battery farms. unless they have the certified stamp (the one with the chook) then it can be really hard to know for sure where the eggs are coming from. and I would just assume that the free range eggs available at woolies are NOT free-range in the true sense of the meaning. choice magazine ran a great article on it all a couple of years ago. Even the RSPCA accreditation means very little. means that the egg producers only need to be complying with the egg corporation policy on 'free range'.
DH gets so annoyed at me as i refuse to buy eggs unless they are truly free range LOL! he reckons i am over-zealous...but i just love chooks lol.