March 16, 2007

EU's policy towards battery cages and cage-free eggs spreading in the US

As the EU's movement to phase out compact cages for layers and move towards cage-free eggs to promote better animal welfare, discussions to follow suit are raging across the Atlantic in Connecticut, the richest state in the US.

Proposed legislation would prohibit Connecticut's Department of Administrative Services from buying eggs from farms that use cages. The ban was opposed by state Agriculture Commissioner F. Philip Prelli.

The thinking that housing laying hens in cages is inhumane is based on conjecture and not science, Prelli said.

Hens are contented and tend to lay more eggs in cages, a fact that was borne out in studies, Prelli said.

Moreover, Connecticut consumers should be able to make their own choices in purchasing food products, Prelli said.

However, Wayne Pacelle, the president and CEO of the US Humane Society said Europe's new battery cage, even though it allows more spaces to chickens than previously and holds up to nine chickens, is cruel.

Pacelle said chickens in battery cages are denied any opportunity to engage in numerous important, natural behaviours, including nesting, dust bathing, perching, and foraging.

Already, some stores in the state are refusing to sell the battery-cage eggs and during the last Congress, legislation was proposed that would have required the federal government to purchase eggs only from cage-free hens.