Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: SAFE For Animals
Last week the European Parliament urged the European Commission to ban the caging of all farmed animals across the European Union by 2027.
The resolution was adopted with overwhelming support from MEPs. It urged the Commission to revise the outdated EU directive on farmed animals in order to phase out cruel cage systems.
SAFE Campaigns Manager Bianka Atlas said Aotearoa is falling behind.
“The European Parliament’s decision to adopt this resolution will set a precedent for the rest of the world,” said Atlas.
In New Zealand, 2.3 million hens are still waiting to be freed from cruel and outdated cages. In 2014 and 2017, the Labour Party made similar promises to ban the caging of hens in New Zealand, but no action has yet been taken.
“We hope our political leaders will take notice of this resolution. The world is moving away from confining animals in cages and Aotearoa must do the same. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor needs to act to ban the caging of hens in Aotearoa.”
SAFE is New Zealand’s leading animal rights organisation.
We’re creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.
– A 2020 Colmar Brunton survey found that 76% of New Zealanders polled were opposed to the caging of hens.
– 2.3 million hens are kept in cages in New Zealand, 1.2 million of whom are kept in colony cages.
– A colony caged hen only has 750 square centimetres of space in which to live her life (around the size of an A4 piece of paper).
– Colony cages breach the Animal Welfare Act 1999 as they do not allow hens to perform natural behavior such as foraging for food, dust bathing, nesting and moving about freely.
– New Zealand’s leaders know that people care about hens. In 2014 and 2017, the Labour Party promised to ban colony cages. The Green Party of Aotearoa has also committed to free hens from cages.
– Colony cages have been banned or are being phased out in parts of Europe, including Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic and the Walloon Region of Belgium. In the United States, nine states have already banned the sale and production of cage eggs.
– New Zealand is already shifting away from cage eggs. Almost all New Zealand’s major egg purchasers have released cage-free egg commitments, and most supermarkets (which buy 60% of the eggs produced annually) are cage-free committed, along with leading foodservice groups, hotel companies, restaurants and retail outlets.
