UK - Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health, announced at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference this week that the UK ban on barren battery cages will go ahead, despite opposition from many in the egg industry.
Defra have confirmed that hens in Britain will at last be released from the cruelty of barren battery cages.
Compassion in World Farming Chief Executive, Philip Lymbery said:
"Lord Rooker has made a monumental decision and we cannot praise him enough for an action that will get 20 million UK birds out of barren battery cages every year. Rooker's choice to keep the ban on barren battery cages shows the British government is once again leading the way on farm animal welfare.
"British consumers don't want eggs from caged hens, as seen by the growing number of consumers spending more on free-range eggs and the government is supporting that view. Keeping hens in battery cages is simply one of the cruellest of modern farming practices and there should be no place for it in UK farming."
Barren battery cages are due to be banned across the EU from 2012 under the Laying Hens Directive but many in the egg industry and many Member States are keen to see this delayed by up to ten years.
