Health

The end of battery farms in Britain – but not Europe

by liamssoft | December 27, 2011 at 12:45 am

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VEGAN peta EGGS Chicken Battery Cage (Undercover Investigation at Hy-Line Hatchery) KFC Vegetarian

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VEGAN peta EGGS Chicken Battery Cage (Undercover Investigation at Hy-Line Hatchery) KFC Vegetarian

A long-awaited ban will come into force on Sunday. But shoppers will still face an ethical choice when buying eggs.. Farmers have freed more than 80 million hens from especially cruel and cramped lives in one of the most significant changes to animal welfare legislation in decades: the end of battery cages.

Spain, France, Poland and others admit they will not be ready to drop battery cages (or just refuse to say when they will be ready) despite having had 13 years to prepare for the change in the treatment of farm animals.

This has led to fears that cheaper,illegal eggs from the Continent will flood into UK wholesalers, manufacturers and caterers – undercutting British egg producers, who say they feel "let down" by the Government's refusal to unilaterally ban eggs from non-compliant EU states. Battery cages prevent hens from exhibiting natural behaviour such as wing flapping, perching and foraging. Battery cages, the most common method of egg production, allow 550cm sq space per bird, less than a sheet of A4 paper.

www.independent.co.uk

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YankeeJim

at 04:43 on December 27th, 2011

Without uniform enforcement and tariffs against noncompliance, the action is unfair, even though it is the right thing to do.

liamssoft

at 08:08 on December 27th, 2011

It would be even more unfair if battery eggs were sold off as free range. I know that I will continue to buy free range eggs at £1 per 6 farm eggs as I consider that's not expensive for a better tasting egg from a producer that cares how the hens are treated.

ishambat

at 01:37 on December 28th, 2011

This is something that has to be done on a worldwide scale to work. Practices such as battery farms are more economical, meaning that without everyone's agreement to stop them the people who use them will win. It can't be done unilaterally; everyone has to do it.