http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk_politics/newsid_2064000/2064268.st
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Tuesday, 25 June, 2002, 11:11 GMT 12:11 UK
Battery hens 'to be banned'
The government is to launch a public consultation on whether to ban
the use of all cages for egg-laying hens.
EU welfare standards for laying hens, due to come into force this
week, will ban conventional "barren" battery cages from January 2012,
and forbid new ones being installed after 1 January 2003.
Farmers will still be able to use "enriched" cages, which have more
space - 600sq cm per bird - plus a nest box, perch and litter.
Egg producers warn that a ban could lead to the industry moving
abroad, leading to job losses in the UK.
Germany has decided to go further than the new EU standards by
banning enriched cages too.
And UK animal welfare minister Elliot Morley said he wanted to see if
there was a case for banning "enriched" cages in the UK.
Competition
Mr Morley said: "The UK Government has worked hard to push for barren
battery cages to be banned and I welcome the directive and the new
implementing regulations.
"But I am not convinced enriched cages have any real advantages over
conventional barren cages.
"I want to hear people's views on the subject to see if the UK should
follow Germany and ban enriched cages too."
But Mr Morley told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It won't do any
good banning battery cages in the UK if other countries, competitive
countries, carry on with them.
"The reason why we want to end battery cages is because we have
concerns about the welfare of birds within them and whether they meet
all the welfare considerations we would expect any intensive rearing
system to do."
Import fears
Animal welfare groups such as the RSPCA and Compassion in World
Farming (CIWF) have criticised enriched cages as little better than
battery conditions.
CIWF says on its website: "So-called 'enriched cages' will offer very
few welfare benefits considering that hens will still be caged in a
small space."
Andrew Joret, of the British Egg Industry Council, said market
research suggested that while consumers would like to see battery
cages banned, this was not reflected in their purchasing decisions.
Banning enriched cages in Britain might lead to more battery eggs
being imported, he argued.
Beak trimming
"We believe those eggs will still be consumed by a section of the
population. The question is whether we will produce them here, at
home, or whether we will import them," he told Today.
Mr Morley said he also wants to phase out beak trimming, where the
tips of hens beaks are sliced off.
This will be allowed under the EU directive to continue until the end
of 2010, because of welfare concerns about feather pecking and
cannibalism.
Mr Morley said: "I am confident this can be phased out, through
improved management and, in particular, breeding."
Supermarket bans
An estimated 24 million egg-laying chickens are kept in battery cages
in the UK at any one time, producing 72% of the country's supplies.
Several supermarkets - including Waitrose and Marks & Spencer - have
already banned battery-produced eggs.
The new regulations apply only in England; similar legislation is
being drawn up in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The rules apply only to egg-laying hens - guidelines on meat and
breeding birds are due shortly.
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