Published 02/10/2020

Today (2nd October), on World Day for Farmed Animals, the European Commission received the End The Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), signed by 1.4 million people across Europe, calling on the EU to put an end to the use of cages in animal farming. This marks one of the most significant days for farmed animals that the world has ever seen.

The End the Cage Age ECI, which launched on 11 September in 2018, gained over 1.6 million signatures, easily exceeding the required threshold of 1 million signatures, with a total of 1,397,113 validated signatures across Europe – including 54,114 signatures in the UK, where over 16.6 million farm animals are still caged. Altogether, this was by far the biggest political push for farmed animal welfare in European history.

“Today’s hand-in of the End the Cage Age ECI is the culmination of a great effort by 1.4 million European citizens who came together to call on the EU to end the cruelty of confining farmed animals in cages,” says Olga Kikou, Head of Compassion in World Farming EU. “The massive public backing for the Initiative confirms the overwhelming level of interest EU citizens have in animal welfare. Now, the EU Commission must listen and come forward with substantive legislative proposals to phase out the use of cages in EU animal farming.”

Making history for farmed animals has been a collaborative effort, where Compassion joined forces with 170 environmental, consumer rights and animal protection NGOs from across Europe, and rallied from every corner of the European continent.

“Today, we have crossed a finish line in the biggest political push in farmed animal welfare history. We are phenomenally proud of this collaborative victory,” says Sean Gifford, Compassion’s Global Director of Campaigns. “Of all the terrible contraptions used to control animals, the cage is one of the worst. It is high time the EU Commission evolved past such cruelty and freed farmed animals kept behind bars. A life in a cage is no life at all.”

Today’s success could not have been achieved without the support of 1.4 million people across Europe who stood up for farmed animals and demanded change for farmed animals.

For more information please email media.team@ciwf.org or call 01483 521 615.