18th September 2006
PRESS RELEASE FROM COMPASSION IN WORLD FARMING - IRELAND
EU BAN ON BATTERY CAGES FOR EGG-LAYING HENS UNDER THREAT
Today (at 9.45 am),
leading international farm animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming is
holding a Press Conference in Brussels to launch disturbing new undercover film
footage exposing inhumane conditions in hen cages. The film was shot in the Netherlands, Poland,
Spain and the UK.
The Press Conference is
timed to take place on the same day as the EU Agriculture Council meets in
Brussels.
The Press conference highlights that the forthcoming EU-wide
ban on battery cages, which was agreed in 1999 and is to come into effect in
2012, is now under threat. Many EU egg
producers want the ban dropped or postponed for many years. CIWF is calling on the EU Agriculture Council
not to postpone the ban.
The Press conference also highlights that egg producers have
developed a new type of cage called an “enriched cage” which will still be
legal even after the battery cage ban is in place. These enriched cages offer little welfare
advantage over battery cages. CIWF says
that a
cage is still a cage and that all cage systems for egg-laying hens
should be outlawed by the EU.
Situation in Ireland
There are approximately 1.97 million
egg-laying hens in the Republic of Ireland. Most of these (68%) are kept in
battery cages, the rest are mainly free-range.
[2005 figures from the Dept. of Agriculture & Food].
CIWF-Ireland has written to
Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan, calling on her to do all she can to ensure
that the EU battery cage ban is not postponed or dropped. We have asked
Minister Coughlan to ensure that enriched cages are not used in Ireland as an
alternative to battery cages. Instead,
high welfare standard free-range systems should be encouraged for all Irish
egg-laying hens.
Mary-Anne Bartlett, Director of CIWF-Ireland, says:
“It would benefit Ireland’s image as a producer of high quality food to
have very good animal welfare standards.
Hens confined in battery cages have a poor quality of life and suffer as
a result. So-called “enriched cages” are
little better. CIWF believes that the
best way forward for Ireland is high quality production of eggs from free-range
hens that can exercise and benefit from fresh air and sunlight. We are calling on Minister Coughlan to
support this animal welfare-friendly way forward.”
Further information
Please contact Mary-Anne Bartlett, Director, CIWF-Ireland at 021
4639038
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Ban on battery cages
The EU Laying Hens Directive,
adopted in 1999, bans battery cages for egg-laying hens as from 2012. That ban is now under threat. The Directive requires the ban to be reviewed
before it comes into force. This review
is currently taking place. Many EU egg
producers want the ban to be dropped or postponed.
Problems
Over 300 million hens are
kept in battery cages in the EU. The
battery cage system is inhumane. Hens
are crammed into cages so tiny that they cannot even stretch their wings. Hens have strong instincts to lay their eggs
in a nest, peck and scratch in the ground, dust-bathe and perch. None of these behaviours are possible in the
battery cage. Moreover, the severe
restriction of movement in the cage leads to high levels of osteoporosis – and
so to many battery hens suffering from broken bones.
Scientific research fully backs the cage ban:
Public oppose the battery cage
The cage
ban reflects strong public opposition to this system. 58% of respondents to a Eurobarometer
survey rated the welfare of laying hens as very or fairly bad. 76% of respondents to the
Commission’s recent online consultation believe that the welfare of hens is
poor or very poor.
‘Enriched’ cages are little better than battery cages
Many farmers plan to get
round the ban by switching to so-called ‘enriched’ cages, which regrettably are
legal under the Directive. Hens kept in ‘enriched’
cages are, under the Directive, given just 50
cm2 more useable floor space per hen than those kept in battery
cages. ‘Enriched’ cages provide perches, and a nest box and a littered area,
which are largely inadequate to meet the hens’ behavioural needs.
Undercover film
CIWF’s new undercover film reveals that ‘enriched’ cages
fail to overcome many of the welfare problems inherent in cage systems. Our film shows that ‘enriched’ cages are
virtually no better than battery cages - and that the Directive’s rules meant
to protect welfare in ‘enriched’ cages are easy to evade.
CIWF’s view
CIWF calls on the EU
Agriculture Council to resist pressure to postpone the ban on battery cages -
it must come into force in 2012, the date set by the Directive. We also urge the Agriculture Council to ban
‘enriched’ cages.
*Details of reports
The Laywel
report, prepared for the European Commission, is entitled Welfare
implications of changes in production systems for laying hens.
The finding that the welfare of laying hens is severely compromised in
conventional battery cages is on page 27. The link is
http://www.laywel.eu/web/pdf/deliverable%2071%20welfare%20assessment.pdf
The report of the Scientific
Panel on Animal Health and Welfare of the European Food Safety Authority is
entitled Welfare aspects of various systems of keeping laying hens. The
finding that conventional battery cages pose a particularly severe threat to
the welfare of laying hens is drawn from Section 11 which starts on page
94. The link is