The European Commission pledged on Wednesday 30 June to present a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out and ban the use of cage systems for all farm animals.
The Commission has thus decided to respond positively to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘End the Cage Age’, which becomes the sixth successful initiative supported by more than one million citizens across the EU.
The Commission’s proposal will cover: - animals already covered by the legislation (laying hens, sows and calves); - other animals mentioned in the ECI (rabbits, pullets, layer breeders, broiler breeders, quails, ducks and geese).
For these animals, the Commission has already asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to complete the existing scientific data in order to determine the conditions necessary to ban cages.
The new legislation should come into force in 2027, according to the Commission.
“Today marks an historic day for European citizens and for animal welfare in Europe. Today we are showing that we have listened to the 1.4 million Europeans who have asked us to prohibit the use of cages for farm animals”, commented Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides.
Support measures. “Farmers will be supported in this transition”, the Commissioner promised. The Commission will identify the necessary accompanying measures to ensure a balanced and economically viable transition to cage-free farming, Ms Kyriakides added.
The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) includes support through ecological programmes to help farmers modernise their facilities to make them more animal welfare friendly. In addition, Member States can use the Just Transition Fund and the Recovery and Resilience Facility to help farmers adapt to cage-free systems.
Link to the Commission’s communication: https://bit.ly/3h26uNz (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)