Euro candidate welcomes European Commission decision to call time on battery cages
Published: 10 Jan 2008
Timely decision by the Commission comes as celebrity chefs seek to raise awareness of ethical poultry farming
The European Commission’s decision to reject calls to delay a ban on conventional battery cages for laying hens due to come into force in 2012 has been applauded by South West Green’s lead candidate in the European elections.
Cllr Ricky Knight, who was selected last month as the South West Greens’ lead candidate in the European elections, has already called for the region to aim towards achieving self-reliance for healthy, local, organic food.
He called today’s statement “a victory for animal welfare campaigners and a testament to the strength of consumer power.
”In the face of industry opposition to the ban Cllr Knight’s Green Party colleague, South East MEP Caroline Lucas, has repeatedly called on Commission officials to press for a tightening rather than a weakening of animal welfare standards.
Cllr Knight said: “As the pressing issue of animal welfare in our poultry farms comes under the spotlight from celebrity chefs promoting the benefits of ethical farming, the statement by the European Commission confirms that public opinion can drive legislative change.”
The Commission's own surveys indicate that shoppers are prepared to change their buying habits to ensure better treatment of farm animals.
The Commission found that customers would "pay more for eggs from a system that is animal welfare friendly" and that they would be "willing to change their usual place of shopping" to buy goods which were produced with animal welfare in mind.
As such, the egg industry's efforts to delay progress seem unjustified.
“Greed and a resistance to change had led the industry and some EU member states to fight for a postponement of the ban, but this report rejects their calls, with the Commission prioritising scientific and economic research, as well as the wishes of EU citizens, over the powerful industry lobby.
“In this important decision on conventional battery cages, the Commission has given a clear signal that consumer feeling matters, and thus that the cruel and inhumane cages will be abolished by 2012, as was previously agreed under the terms of the EU Laying Hens Directive (adopted in 1999), in line with an EC directive on minimum standards for laying hens.
"However, this ban is long overdue and 2012 is still too far away.
Furthermore, it will still allow so-called "enriched cages” to be used, and therefore our aim must be a total ban on cages for laying hens as soon as possible.”
Cllr Knight continued: “The confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages is among the most inhumane practices in factory farming. But even then, this isn’t just a case of preventing animal cruelty - increasing evidence suggests that intensive poultry farming practices play a key part in the spread of disease, such as avian influenza.
“Numerous reports have identified that the conditions in industrialised indoor poultry farms are perfect breeding grounds for disease.
“Research into avian flu funded by the Commission has so far neglected the role of trade and farming in recent outbreaks, so while the 2012 ban is a crucial step in the right direction, the Commission must also recognise the link between industry practices and disease if we are to maintain a high standard of animal and human welfare.”
Cllr Knight added that free range, high quality production was a more suitable method of farming for local producers in the south west but stressed the important of providing support and access to markets for independent, small farmers across the region.
Notes to editors
It is estimated that over 200 million hens in the EU member states are currently confined to battery cages that barely allow them to turn around, let alone fulfil many of their natural behaviours.
Confined in noisy and cramped conditions, these animals live out their lives without spreading their wings or laying their eggs in nests.
Major UK supermarket chains Marks and Spencer and Waitrose have already stopped selling eggs from caged hens, and it is hoped that other retailers will follow suit ahead of the 2012 ban.
