24.09.2010

Concerned about the apparent lack of preparedness for some EU Member States for the battery cage ban from January 2012, the National Farmers Union (NFU) is calling for a labelling system that will allow eggs from enriched cages to be distinguished from those from conventional battery cages.

It is clear than some European Member States will not make the deadline for conversion.

A study (completed in April 2010) commissioned by the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on the future of the EU poultry meat and egg sectors reported that: “Very large proportions” of the flock in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Poland and, to a lesser extent, Czech Republic, Hungary and France are not expected to be in compliance by the Directive’s deadline. The UK, on the other hand, features among those EU Member States that have already made significant progress towards banning so-called battery cages.

Poland has 30 million hens in conventional cages. They have requested on two separate occasions for a five year derogation to give them longer to comply with the ban. On both occasions this has been refused by the Commission but highlights the fact that there are still a significant number of hens in conventional cages across the EU with only 16 months to go.

Industry estimates suggest that around 30% of the EU laying flock (100 million hens) will still remain in conventional cages come the 1st January 2012 deadline.

In the conclusion of the briefing paper on the situation, the NFU concludes: "The UK egg industry is completely unsupported and market driven and showcases some of the highest welfare, food safety, traceability and environmental standards in the world. It is ludicrous that UK egg producers could be put at a commercial disadvantage by complying with European legislation. It is essential that eggs produced in conventional cages can be identified and therefore forced to remain within the Member State of production to protect our producers being subjected to competition from cheaper illegal imports."