BVA leads new call for laying hen cage ban

Senior vets have called for an outright ban on the use of cages for laying hens in the UK on welfare grounds.

A new policy paper by the BVA and British Veterinary Poultry Association (BVPA) has recommended the method is scrapped after a “clearly staged and adequately funded” transition period of at least five years.

Although battery cages have been banned in the UK since 2012, the document argued the “enhanced” cages that replaced them do not give hens a sufficient quality of life.

Poorer welfare

It said: “While enriched cages meet some basic behavioural needs, they deliver significantly poorer welfare outcomes than cage-free systems and should be phased out.”

The new intervention comes amid widespread veterinary concern about the issue and follows a public consultation by Defra on a potential ban earlier this year.

Figures from the BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey indicated more than 85% of vets were concerned about the welfare impacts of cages.

Although the proportion of laying hens being kept in cages has fallen substantially in the past two decades, enhanced cages are still estimated to account for around 17% of current egg production.

‘Express natural behaviours’

BVA president Rob Williams said: “Although the majority of UK egg production is already cage-free, many members of the public will be shocked to learn that there are still a significant number of laying hens spending their whole laying lives in cages with little opportunity to express natural behaviours or spread their wings.”

BVPA junior vice-president Adrian Knoetze added: “Farms and veterinarians continue to focus on improving the welfare of hens regardless of the housing system and with the market transitioning to non-caged systems a ban is reasonable.”

The paper also calls for a ban on the import of eggs and egg products from countries where cages are still used, plus further research on indoor free-range systems amid the continuing threat of avian flu.

It pointed out such systems were already being used in the Netherlands and the industry should explore them “as a viable alternative… which could offer the best of both indoor and outdoor” housing arrangements.