FAWC report on the welfare of laying hens

Extract

This Report considers the main systems of egg production in the UK (battery cages, deep litter, perchery, aviary and free-range) and makes recommendations for the improvement of hen welfare. On the opening pages, the FAWC Chairman Sir Colin Spedding, in a covering letter to the Agriculture Ministers, introduces the Report and highlights key points. These include the recommendation that Directive 88/166/EEC, which sets the minimum space requirement at 450cm² per bird, should be amended immediately to require a minimum space of 600cm² in all battery cages within 5 years. Furthermore, the Council recommends that conventional battery cages should be phased out in the long-term subject to three provisions (a) the UK industry must be protected from unfair competition within the EU (b) imports of eggs and egg products into the EU from countries in which battery cages are still used must be banned and (c) the phasing out of battery cages should not be effected until injurious pecking and cannibalism have been eliminated or successfully controlled.