Brussels, 19/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will begin infringement proceedings in coming days against 14 countries (France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain) which have yet to implement the directive on the welfare of laying hens, European Health Commissioner John Dalli announced on Thursday 19 January (see EUROPE 10495). EU countries had until 1 January 2012, a transition period of 13 years, to come into line with European law. The infringement proceedings could very well be opened next Thursday 26 January when the Commission adopts its “infringement package”.
The directive (1999/74/EC, setting minimum standards for the protection of laying hens) stipulates that, from 1 January 2012, hens may only be kept in cages where they have at least 750 square centimetres of living space and a nest or a perch, or in some other system such as on the ground or free to roam. The legislation, then, puts a ban on conventional battery cages. It seeks to prevent hens being kept in the barest environment where they have living space no bigger than the area of an A4 sheet of paper.
The Commission has obtained a list of farms which are failing to comply with the new standards (affecting 51 million laying hens). The eggs from hens kept under illegal conditions may no longer be sold abroad or retailed and may only be used in the processing industry.
In presenting the new animal welfare strategy (see EUROPE 10531), Dalli said that stronger cooperation with member states was necessary to meet forthcoming challenges, which include the ban on sow stalls. This ban is due to come into effect from 1 January 2013, but first indications are that some member states are still lagging behind. In the coming months, the commissioner will do all in his power to “promote full compliance before the ban comes into force. Afterwards, there can be no tolerance of non-compliance”, he warned. (LC/transl.rt)