January 6, 2012

 

 

A new EU law aimed at improving conditions for caged hens is being feared to hit business by a free-range poultry farmer.

 

On Sunday (Jan 1), battery egg farming became illegal across the EU but several member states, including France and Italy, have not complied with the ban.

 

Roger Hosking said his 24,000-bird farm, Highfield Happy Hens, in Etwall, had already been hit by falling egg prices last year.

 

Now he fears that imports of cheap, illegally produced eggs will keep market prices low - forcing him to reduce his flock.

 

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says it cannot legally ban all eggs and egg products from the non-compliant countries from coming into the UK as some will be produced legally.

 

Some spot checks will be carried out by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency using UV light, which shows up markings found only on battery eggs - but they will not be able to look at every import.

 

On Tuesday (Jan 3), the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) made the first steps towards a judicial review of Defra's response, saying the Government had misinterpreted the law.

 

Hosking said the price of eggs dropped by 20% last year as supermarkets asked for higher production rates from its suppliers to fill the gaps left when battery farm eggs were taken off the shelves. He said: "I have been told by the packing station I use that I can't expect a rise in the price of my eggs for at least another two months.

 

"But if the illegal eggs aren't stopped from coming into the country, the price may never recover.  Even if they are not on supermarket shelves, they could find their way to buyers such as restaurants and hotels, who use them in food. It all affects the market price."

 

He said that, if this happened, the farm's flock may have to be reduced and egg production may "no longer be a major part of its business". Hosking said: "I have friends who run chicken farms who would be ruined."They are hanging on by their fingernails now."

 

Andrew Parker, BEIC chairman, said EU member states had been given 12 years to "get their house in order" before the ban came into force. He said: "All that is required is the production of proper supporting documentation with all eggs and egg related products entering the country, which is already a legal requirement on distributors."This is standard traceability procedure operated throughout the food industry both here in the UK and in the EU so it should be a straightforward process for the Government to do the right thing, both ethically and legally." A Defra spokesman said such a ban was not a realistic option.

 

He said, "There are very significant legal and financial implications of introducing such a ban, coupled with practical difficulties in enforcing it. To protect consumers from buying eggs from battery cages, we have worked closely with the major food processors and retailers who have agreed not to supply these eggs or use them in their own foods."