Ban the Battery Cage

There are over 300 million egg laying hens in the European Union (EU) and more than three quarters of them are confined to the barren battery cage system.

Hen Welfare

No room. No view.

A battery hen spends her short life crammed into a small wire cage with several other hens. The floor is made of wire mesh. She has nothing to scratch at. Under EU law, the minimum floor space each bird is allowed is less than an A4 sheet of paper.

A barren battery cage prevents a hen from carrying out her natural behaviours, such as foraging for food, laying her eggs in a nest, roosting, stretching her wings and dust-bathing. This causes her extreme physical and psychological stress.

About the ban

A ban on the use of barren battery cages within the EU is due to be brought into force in January 2012, but the ban is currently under threat.

The majority of EU citizens consider that the welfare of farmed animals should be protected and believe that welfare improvements are necessary (Eurobarometer 2007). In many EU countries, including the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, growing numbers of consumers have already demonstrated their willingness to pay more for eggs from free-range hens.

Despite having had twelve years to prepare for this ban, some countries still want to delay it by as many as ten years and members of the egg industry are lobbying against it because they believe it will be economically damaging.

The UK government has publicly declared its support for the ban on barren battery cages coming into force in 2012.

Retailers, manufacturers and service

Our Good Egg Awards reward European food companies for going cage-free - sourcing only barn or free-range eggs, instead of eggs from caged hens. Winners so far include Sainsbury's, McDonald’s, and Unilever (including Hellmann’s mayonnaise in the UK). The Good Egg Awards will benefit over 15 million laying hens every year.

Take Action

Find out how you can help us campaign to get laying hens out of cages now