Update on Battery Cage Ban (Good News)

CIWF reports that the EU Commission has taken action to enforce the barren battery cage ban by starting the procedure that could mean 13 EU member states facing fines for not complying with the EU wide ban that came into force at the beginning of this year.  Formal letters have been sent to the 13 states about their non-compliance, which are effectively starting infringement proceedings against these Countries.

The UK needs to act now to avoid being the 14th rogue state failing to implement the ban, CIWF is calling on Defra to act swiftly against those flouting the ban.  The Commission  has stated that action would be taken against the UK in February if the illegal battery cages were still being used.

You can help by clicking here to be redirected to CIWF's Big Move campaign page.

Thank you!

Who is flouting the ban on illegal Battery Cages?

Source: CIWF

Further to my post about Happy Hens on 7th January, Compassion in World Farming have reported that despite the EU ban on barren battery hen cages taking effect at the beginning of 2012, industry estimates show that due to the non-compliance in a number of nations there are at least 50 million European hens still being illegally kept in barren battery cages.

CIWF reports that there are 14 EU nations that are not complying with the ban on battery cages and the worst culprit is Italy, where industry estimates show that the non-compliance is at least 41% - nearly 20 million hens.

The Italian Health Minister, Renato Balduzzi oversees farm animal welfare.  Sig. Balduzzi took office in November 2011 so will not have experienced the full force of CIWF's Big Move campaign yet.  Please click here to enter a few details and automatically contact Sig. Balduzzi asking him to set out Italy's plans for full compliance to the ban on battery cages, to provide accurate figures to the Commission of the Italian egg industry's level of compliance and confirm what action the Government is taking against producers who break the law.

Please remember to share this with your friends so we can increase the pressure on Italy to adhere to this much welcomed ban on battery cages and improve the lives of nearly 20 million hens.

Thank you!


Update
A day after writing this post I noticed this article informing us that it isn't just Italy that are flouting the ban on battery cages.  Sadly, up to 500,000 hens are still being kept in battery cages in the UK despite the ban.  The ban on battery cages was announced by the EU over ten years ago, in 2009 so British egg producers have had ample time to phase battery cages out.  The Government is confident that the new rules will be fully enforced by the beginning of next month...  Watch this space.

A Happy New Year, for Hens!

{Source}

It's a very happy new year for battery hens, on the 1st of January 2012 the EU ban on the barren batter cage came into force.  Compassion in World Farming reports that hundreds of millions of animals will benefit from this remarkable piece of animal welfare legislation, and more than 130 million European hens are spending their lives free of the cruel battery farming system.

CIWF declares this a victory for not only battery hens but for each person who buys free range, organic or barn eggs and the major food companies that have made a stand and declared themselves "cage free".

Unfortunately, the barren battery cage is still in use, illegally in many countries throughout Europe.  Therefore, CIWF's campaign will not be ending here.  The goal is to continue to add pressure on all non-compliant countries and producers until the whole of Europe is cage free.  For more about the campaign, please click here.


Check out the RSPCA website for more news and how to ensure you only buy products from cage free hens.

Thank you.