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• EU BATTERY CAGE BAN

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Introduction to the Ban

• After 8 years of lobbying and campaigning, the EU
  passed the Laying Hens Directive (1999/74/EC)
  with the aim of a complete phasing out of the use
  of barren battery cages by 2012
• The ban is currently under threat!
• Certain EU member states and members of the egg
  industry are calling for the ban to be delayed or
  even dropped completely

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Conditions in Battery Cages

• Chickens are probably the most oppressed animals
  on the planet
• Over 200 million laying hens are confined to
  battery cages in the EU
• Under current EU law, each hen has an allotted
  floor space allowance of 550cm2, the average
  space used by hens for the most basic natural
  behaviours ranges from 475 sq cm to 2606 sq cm

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• Battery hens are unable to perform the most basic
  tasks that are natural to them
• laying their eggs in a nest,
• foraging, pecking and scratching in the ground(in
  natural conditions, hens spend between 50 and 90
  of their waking time foraging),
• dust-bathing (important to remove grease and
  parasites)
• perching.

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• Because of these physical conditions, hens suffer
  from osteoporosis and fractured bones (due to
  lack of space and depletion of calcium reserves
  through egg production)
• Osteoporosis accounts for 30-35 of deaths in
  caged laying hens
• Hens have to stand on a sloping wire floor, their
  claws become overgrown, twisted and broken
• Due to frustration, boredom and close proximity
  to other hens, chickens will peck at their cage
  mates, often resulting in cannibalism
• Hens are therefore de-beaked using a red-hot
  blade to stop them from pecking at each other

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Alternatives to the barren battery cage

• CIWF Trust is concerned that many cage producers
  will convert to enriched cages incorporates a
  nest, perches and loose litter material
• The enriched cage doesnt even represent a
  marginal improvement for animal welfare
• We believe that only non-systems (free range)
  should be permitted for the housing of laying
  hens because they are the only systems with high
  welfare potential

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Economics and logistics

• Data from the EU Commissions socio-economic
  report suggests that a free-range egg costs 2.6
  eurocents more to produce than a battery egg
• Farmers shouldnt be left to bear the higher
  production costs themselves
• Increased costs should be met by a combination of
  government support and consumers paying a little
  more for their eggs
• Farmers have had a very generous 12-year
  phase-out period and can also be helped under the
  Investment in Agricultural Holdings measure of
  the Common Agricultural Policys Rural
  Development Regulation
• Do the maths if costs were to increase by 20,
  the industry will potentially suffer a loss of
  producer surplus of 354 million. On average each
  EU citizen would have to pay less than 1 extra
  per year. The population of the EU is around 460
  million.

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• Evidence that some consumers are willing to pay
  more for free-range eggs the share of the EU
  laying hen flock kept in non-cage systems has
  risen between 1993 and 2003 from 3.56 to 11.93
• Recent Eurobarometer survey showed that 58 of
  respondents rated the welfare of laying hens as
  very or fairly bad and would be willing to pay
  more for free-range eggs

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Imports

• Many assume that the increase in production costs
  will lead to an increase in imports, not of shell
  eggs, but of egg products (dried egg products)
  used in processed foods
• However the EU Commissions report indicates that
  a 20 increase in costs will lead to an increase
  in imports of up to 3-4 (the quantity of eggs
  currently traded is very small in relation to the
  size of the overall egg market anyway)

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UK Supermarkets

• 2005 survey
• on shell eggs

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• M S and Waitrose only use free-range eggs in
  processed products
• The Co-op and Morrisons have made cage-free
  commitments on their own-label eggs
• Sainsburys have committed to do so by 2012
• Asda and Tesco on the other hand have not pledged
  to go cage-free at all!

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Tesco

• Tesco Action Week 3rd 11th Nov
• Why Tesco? Tesco has a 31 share of the grocery
  markets, and over 3.5 million hens are needed to
  lay the eggs supplied by Tesco each year
• What can we do??

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Strategy for implementation of the ban

• Supermarkets EU Commission says change will be
  very much market driven
• Swiss example Switzerland moved away from
  battery cages completely in the 1990s, evidence
  shows that the move was greatly enhanced by the
  fact that the two main supermarket chains (Co-op
  and Migros) invested heavily in the promotion of
  eggs produced in alternative systems, contributed
  to a change in consumer demand patterns
• Food manufacturers, food service operators and
  supermarkets should be encouraged to fulfil their
  corporate social responsibility by committing
  themselves to only sourcing eggs and egg products
  produced to equivalent welfare standards
• The public sector (hospitals, schools, prisons,
  staff canteens, armed forces etc) should be
  encouraged to only source and provide eggs and
  egg products that have been produced to EU
  welfare standards

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• Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Rural
  Development Regulation enables Member States to
  help egg producers with costs of moving to
  alternative systems, support can be given under
  the RDRs Investment in Agricultural Holdings
  measure and the Meeting Standards measure
• EU should seek to make progress on animal welfare
  at WTO negotiations, especially in the following
  areas
• Green Box payments to contribute to additional
  costs incurred by famers in meeting good animal
  welfare standards
• Sensitive products the Doha Round agreement on
  market access will include some flexibility for
  sensitive products, classifying egg product
  lines as sensitive would be helpful in
  safeguarding them from imports of eggs from hens
  kept in barren battery cages
• Labelling encourage application of same
  mandatory labelling regimes to imported eggs as
  is applied to EU eggs

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To Do

• Battery Cage Ban Action Day
• This Friday! 10am til 4pm, stall outside DSU
• Make banner, posters, design leaflets, design
  petitions, t-shirt transfers? Chicken costume
• Sign up for a shift
• Tesco Action Week 3rd 11th Nov, what can we
  do??
• Write letters to
• The Defra Secretary, The RT Hon Hilary Ben MP
• The UK Animal Welfare Minister Lord Rooker
• Our MP
• Supermarkets Asda and Tesco
• College free-range egg campaign