Humane slaughter requirements for farmed fish and end to puppy farming also in new package of animal welfare laws
Caged hens will be a thing of the past in England, the government has announced, as it launches a package of new animal welfare laws.
Pig farrowing crates, which campaigners have said are cruel, will also be banned under the welfare changes. These cramped crates are used to stop pigs from rolling over and crushing their young, but once in them sows cannot turn over or move around at all.
While conventional battery cages were banned in 2012, this has caused the rise of “colony cages”. The battery cages kept each bird in a small wire cage, with thousands of these cages stacked side by side in a shed. Larger cages that can hold a colony of hens, known as colony cages, have been allowed.
About 21% of hens in the UK today are kept in enriched or colony cages. These hold up to 90 hens, and have perching spots, scratch mats and nest boxes, but generally only provide a tiny space – about the size of an A4 sheet of paper – for each bird.
