Source: SAFE For Animals
SAFE says a major new commitment by the European Commission to phase out cages and crates for farmed animals including hens and pigs highlights how far New Zealand is falling behind on animal welfare.
The European Commission has committed to releasing a targeted revision of animal welfare rules by the end of 2026 which would phase out cages for laying hens. It has also committed to releasing transition proposal away from crates for pigs by mid-2027. The proposals also include ending the routine killing of male chicks born into the egg industry and introducing equivalent animal welfare requirements for imported animal products.
The announcement comes as New Zealand continues to make very different policy choices about the future of factory farming.
In December 2025, the Government abandoned the planned phase-out of farrowing crates for mother pigs. Right now, the Ministry for Primary Industries is consulting on the future of housing systems for laying hens, without proposing a pathway to end colony cages.
SAFE Head of Campaigns Jessica Chambers says the contrast could not be clearer.
“Governments around the world are recognising that confining intelligent, sentient animals in cages and crates is simply unacceptable. Meanwhile, New Zealand is choosing to preserve these systems.”
SAFE says the European Commission’s announcement demonstrates that governments can, and do, choose to move away from factory farming systems.
“Factory farming exists because governments choose to permit it. They can also choose to end it. Europe’s announcement shows these systems aren’t inevitable, they’re a political choice.”
Chambers says New Zealand’s approach has focused on regulating the impacts of factory farming rather than questioning the systems themselves.
“For decades we’ve regulated the harms of factory farming instead of asking a more fundamental question: should these systems exist at all? While comparable countries are planning to leave cages and crates behind, New Zealand’s governmentcontinues to defend them.”
Ahead of the 2026 general election, SAFE is calling on political parties to commit to ending the use of cages and crates for farmed animals in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Every major reform begins with a simple decision that the status quo is no longer acceptable. Around the world, governments are beginning to make that decision about cages and crates. It’s time New Zealand did too.”
SAFE is Aotearoa’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.
Notes:
- phase out cages for laying hens by the end of 2026;
- transition away from crates for pigs by the second quarter of 2027;
- end the routine killing of male chicks; and
- introduce equivalent animal welfare requirements for imported animal products.
- The Animal Welfare (Regulations for Management of Pigs) Amendment Act was passed in December 2025 and allows the indefinite use of farrowing crates and mating stalls — confinement systems the High Court ruled unlawful in 2020 for preventing mother pigs from turning, nesting, and caring for their piglets.
- The Ministry for Primary Industries is currently accepting public submissions on changes to the Layer Hen Code of Welfare. Submissions close on August 14.