Historic turning point in Europe for cage farming: the EU Parliament votes for the abolition

Historic turning point in Europe for cage farming: the EU Parliament votes for the abolition

Pigs, congils and many other animals may no longer be kept in cages as of 2027. The EU Parliament towards abolition

Breeding animals in cages, perhaps from 2027 will be banned throughout Europe. In recent days, the Agriculture Commission of the European Parliament has supported a request signed by over a million citizens, asking for the elimination of caged farms. From 2027, rabbits, pigs, chickens and many other animals could say goodbye to cages. 





In their response to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) "End the Cage Age", MEPs asked the European Commission to draw up a draft EU law on fair and sustainable agriculture and to propose a revision of the rules of Existing EU legislation on the protection of caged animals. These legal changes should pave the way for the phasing out of the use of cages.

after an appropriate transition period and robust scientific impact assessment, possibly by 2027.

Indeed, according to MEPs, there are alternatives to cage farming and are being successfully implemented in some Member States. These alternative systems should be further improved and encouraged at national level, but to ensure a level playing field for farmers across the European Union, EU legislation is needed-

Index

A species-by-species approach

The phasing out of cage farming should be based on a species-by-species approach that takes into account the characteristics of different animals and ensures that all have housing systems adapted to their specific needs, MEPs argue. 

They also call for a more comprehensive food policy to support the shift to a more sustainable food system which should focus not only on the environmental, but also on the economic and social dimensions. Such a policy should prevent small and medium-sized farms from abandoning livestock production and prevent production from being further concentrated in the hands of a few large farms.

MEPs also demand that all animal derivatives imported into the EU be produced in full compliance with EU legislation, including the use of cage-free farming systems and insist that existing trade agreements should be re-evaluated, eliminating those with countries that have no comparable standards.



#EuropeanCitizensInitiative #EndTheCageAge: @EP_Agriculture backs calls to gradually end caged farming. More info here: https://t.co/oD3UgPjPai

— AGRI Committee Press (@EP_Agriculture) May 21, 2021

The next steps

The draft resolution, approved in recent days by the Agriculture Committee with 39 votes in favor, 4 against and three abstentions, will now have to be examined by Parliament probably during the plenary session on 7-10 June.

What is End the Cage Age

The ECI European Citizens' Initiative enables one million citizens belonging to at least a quarter of the EU Member States to ask the European Commission for legislation in certain areas. The "End the Cage Age" ICE was registered with the EU Commission on 5 September 2018. At the time of presentation, the initiative had garnered the support of nearly 1,4 million signatories from across the EU, with the threshold request for signatures reached in 18 states.

The initiative invites the Commission to

to end (...) the inhumane treatment of hundreds of millions of EU farm animals (...) kept in cages for most of their lives an EU law to ban their use of: cages for laying hens, rabbits, pullets, breeders of chickens, quail, ducks and geese; farrowing cages for sows; stables for sows, where not already prohibited; and individual pens for calves, where not already prohibited ".


We will have to wait about 2 weeks to find out more.

Sources of reference: European Parliament, ICE End the Cage Age,


READ also:

  • Stop to cages on farms in Emilia-Romagna, historic resolution
  • The mega intensive breeding of chickens in the Marche will not take place, the Region is blocking it
  • Closes the "ethical" breeding: race against time to save 500 animals

 

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