The European Commission (EU) has announced aims to end caged animal farming following high demand from European citizens.
After the End the Cage Age petition gathered 1.4 million signatures from European citizens, the EU has taken notes and vows to put a stop to the system by 2027.
The changes will liberate rabbits, ducks, young hens, geese and quails from their crusty cages. It marks End the Cage Age as the sixth successful initiative in the last eight years.
However, for the legislation to officially pass, all 27 EU member states must agree to it.
Following this, the individual counties will be held responsible for enforcing the new laws.
By global standards, the EU ranks amongst the highest in terms of animal welfare standards.
This is a frightening statement when followed by the fact that over “300 million farmed animals” are forced to live in cages across Europe.
The End the Cage Age movement aims to “ban cages completely” to end this unnecessary cruelty.
1.4 million EU citizens supported the European citizens’ initiative ‘End the Cage Age’ and we listened.
Today we commit to present legislative proposals to phase out and eventually prohibit cages for all farm animals listed in the initiative.#EUTakeTheInitiative #EndTheCageAge
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) June 30, 2021
Austria and Luxembourg have completely banned caged hens, with the Czech Republic agreeing to jump on this bandwagon.
Germany has pledged to ban caged hens by 2025, an achievable goal with under 6 per cent of their hen population currently living in cages.
Additionally, there are attempts to end the French delicacy foie gras, which involves force-feeding of ducks and geese to enhance the taste of their livers.
EU Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides stated that it is a moral and societal obligation to ensure that the living conditions of animals on farms reflect their status as living and breathing “sentient beings“.
Farmers will have support from the government to receive new equipment and relevant training that will comply with today’s standards.
Following the decision, Olga Kikou, head of Compassion in World Farming EU, stated: “It feels like one of these moments in history when the tide is turning.
“The animal advocacy movement succeeded in rattling the cage and planting the seeds of a new era“.
It was fantastic to meet such dedicated animal rights campaigners today at the #BetterDealForAnimals event in Parliament. We need to end the cage age and bring about a future where no sentient animal is made to suffer a life of unnecessary pain and indignity pic.twitter.com/TRjUKJFoIK
— Virendra Sharma MP (@VirendraSharma) September 3, 2019
Power to the people, they have spoken.
