Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: SAFE NZ
Animal rights organisation SAFE has big expectations around colony cages for the next Labour government.
SAFE CEO Debra Ashton said with a majority of the seats in Parliament, Labour can make quick progress on animal welfare.
“Labour can really get things done now, like fulfilling some broken promises on animal welfare. They should start with banning colony cages.”
The Labour party had promised to end the caging of hens in 2014 and 2017, yet hens are still confined to colony cages. At SAFE’s Political Panel for Animals in July, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor had said he wouldn’t be investing in colony cages, and no other smart person should be either.
“A 2020 Colmar Brunton Poll showed 76% of people oppose the use of colony cages. Jacinda Ardern has a clear mandate to phase out the caging of hens.”
“This is an issue that Kiwis care about, and with a majority of a house of representatives, one that Labour can quickly act on.”
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.
– On 1 January 2023 battery cages will be illegal in New Zealand and will be replaced by colony cages.
– A 2020 Colmar Brunton poll found 76% of New Zealanders were opposed to colony cages.
– In 2014 and 2017 the Labour Party committed to banning the caging of layer hens. The Green Party’s current policy is to phase out intensive farming, which includes the caging of hens.
– Colony cages only give a hen a living space of about the size of an A4 piece of paper. Up to 80 hens may live in each colony cage. The hens cannot move around freely, stretch their wings or perform innate and natural behaviours such as dustbathing, foraging or nesting.
– Hens are intelligent, curious and socially complex animals with a strong need to carry out their natural behaviour. When free to roam outdoors, a hen will spend her days scratching at the ground, searching for food, dust bathing, stretching her wings and basking in the sun.
