European Parliament: No more cages and pens by 2027

The European Parliament has called for an end to cage farming within the next 6 years. Deputies voted to ban the use of cages and pens in animal husbandry by 2027.

The vote follows intense lobbying by the European Citizens' Initiative to End the Cellular Age, led by 170 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across Europe, which has collected 1.4 million signatures from EU citizens and demanded a phase-out of farm cages. Members of the European Parliament voted 558 to 37 with 85 abstentions on a non-binding resolution.

While the EU has banned the use of cages in poultry farming and sow stalls during gestation, campaigners have said that this is not enough given the perceived uneven playing field in Europe, where some countries are already falling outside the scope of EU law.

According to the initiative, 5 out of 28 countries now achieve over 80% cell-free production, i.e. Austria (97%), Luxembourg (97%), Sweden (92%), Germany (86%) and the Netherlands (82%). At the end of the list is Malta with 1%. For sows, the report is based on data from Eurostat. 

Last month, a proposal for a resolution was also adopted by the AGRI parliamentary committee. Committee members urged the European Commission to expedite the review of animal welfare legislation and support the phase-out of cages, pens and cages in agriculture, possibly by 2027, after an impact assessment and a properly funded transition for farmers. They also insisted on compliance with EU standards for all products imported into the EU.

The European Commission is expected to decide by July 15 whether to start a legislative process to ban cage farming for livestock and poultry. EU Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told MEPs that the commission is considering a request contained in the resolution to apply the same animal welfare standards to MEAT imported from outside the EU, as European farmers must comply with requirements within the bloc.

The results in pork production could be far-reaching, as this is likely to change the current practice of using farrowing stalls.