Vets call for total ban on hen cages as welfare concerns grow

Hundreds of thousands of laying hens in the UK are still confined to cages no bigger than an A4 sheet of paper, as vets call for a complete ban on the system.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA), alongside the British Veterinary Poultry Association (BVPA), is urging the government to phase out ‘enriched cages’, warning they continue to restrict birds despite replacing banned battery cages.

While the UK produces around 12.5 billion eggs annually from a flock of more than 40 million hens — with most now in cage-free systems — a significant number remain in caged environments.

Veterinary concerns are widespread. More than 85% of vets surveyed said cages limit natural behaviours, with enriched systems delivering “significantly poorer welfare outcomes than cage-free systems”.

The organisations argue that, although these systems meet some basic needs, they still prevent hens from behaving naturally and should be removed as the sector moves towards higher welfare production.

However, the issue extends beyond UK farms. The BVA warned that banning cages domestically without tightening trade rules risks undermining progress.

It is calling on government to block imports of eggs, liquid and powdered egg products from countries still using caged systems, to prevent welfare standards being undercut.

BVA President Dr Rob Williams said many consumers would be unaware of the scale of the issue.

“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,” he said.

He added that with much of the industry already shifting to free-range, barn and organic systems, the next step is to “phase out cages entirely”.

The associations stressed that any move must be carefully managed, with a phased and properly funded transition aligned with EU developments to avoid disadvantaging UK producers.

BVPA Junior Vice President Adrian Knoetze said the direction of travel is already clear.

“With the market transitioning to non-caged systems a ban is reasonable,” he said, while warning that action must not result in welfare concerns being pushed overseas.

The message from the veterinary bodies is clear: without decisive action on both domestic policy and imports, the UK risks falling short of its own welfare ambitions.