Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) recently debated banning caged animals for food production in the EU in a public hearing as a result of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) End the Cage Age. 

“This is the sixth ECI to succeed among 76 registered initiatives in the last eight years. It represents the third-highest number of signatures ever collected and the first valid ECI for farmed animal welfare,” says Dolors Montserrat, petitions committee chair.

“It has been submitted at a time wher intensive animal husbandry is seeing greater public scrutiny and it demands that the EU make more [policy] changes,” she adds.

End the Cage Age is already supported by several large industry players such as Mondelēz, Unilever and Ferrero, responding to consumer demand for transparency and sustainability. 

Last month, Nestlé showed its commitment to reducing caged animals by announcing all eggs used in its food products across Europe were officially cage-free. 

The road to cage-free
Several MEPs note that any potential phase-out of caged farming requires proper financial support, incentives and an adequate transition period. 

They also called for strict and efficient measures to avoid imports of cheaper products with lower animal welfare standards from non-EU countries. 

Wojciechowski also supports more EU farm policy money being used to improve animal welfare and insists that the EU’s trade partners accept the same or equivalent standards. 

What it would require
ECI organizers Olga Kikou and Leopoldine Charbonneaux presented the initiative’s objectives, specifically to end the use of cages for a number of species, including laying hens, rabbits, pullets, quail, ducks and geese, sows in sow stalls and farrowing crates and individual calf pens.

“Instead of using cages, we call on the EU to move to alternative systems, which are already in existence, such as barns, organic systems, free-range or free farrowing,” says Kikou. 

Stella Kyriakides, health and food safety commissioner, admits: “We are very much aware that we need to do more.” Referring to a fitness check being carried out on existing EU animal welfare legislation, she says, “We will use the results of [this] check to propose new legislation by 2023.”

Rallying support
The public hearing was a result of the ECI End the Cage age, which gathered almost 1.4 million signatories from across the EU by the time of its submission in September 2018. 

The ECI allows one million citizens from at least a quarter of EU member states to ask the European Commission to propose legislation in areas that fall within its competence. 

Organizers of successful initiatives are invited by the EU to present their initiative at a public hearing in the European Parliament, in front of the committee responsible for the subject matter.

During the debate, MEPs highlighted the importance of listening and acting on citizens’ concerns on animal welfare. 

“The Commission attaches the highest importance to ideas submitted via the European Citizens’ Initiative instrument and (...) it takes all successful initiatives very seriously,” says Věra Jourová, Commission vice president.