The Government is committed to strengthening animal welfare standards and is currently examining the use of cages for laying hens. Ministers recognise the need to work carefully and sensitively with the poultry industry, which is currently facing significant challenges. Decisions on a future public consultation on this issue would need to be carefully considered due to these wider challenges.
Around 60 per cent of our hens are now kept in free-range systems, and a number of major supermarkets have pledged to stop selling eggs from the remaining 40 per cent of hens in colony cages by 2025. Ministers will continue to work with the poultry industry on improving feather cover and keel bone health, as well as reducing the amount of beak trimming.
In addition, the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway will prioritise areas for further improvement in the health and welfare of pigs, cattle, sheep and poultry. In relation to meat chickens, through the Pathway producers are being encouraged to implement the Better Chicken commitment which would require the use of slower growing breeds and lower stocking densities.
The UK has a long history of leading the way in animal welfare. The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is a current example of this, following the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act and other important pieces of legislation.
Through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, the Government will be bringing in some of the world’s strongest protections for pets, livestock and kept wild animals. As with all of the animal welfare legislation brought to Parliament, I look forward to supporting the Bill as it makes its way through the legislative process.
In May 2021, the Government also set out a series of ambition reforms in the Action Plan for Animal Welfare. Since 2010, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has had a strong track record in delivery reforms and passing legislation. This includes banning the use of conventional battery cages for laying hens, making CCTV mandatory in slaughterhouses across England, banning the use of wild animals in circuses and introducing the strongest ivory ban in the world.
(April 2023)
