Welfare conditions for laying hens are not uniform across the EU

Published 2023년 4월 5일

Tridge summary

The European Commission has published an audit report on the welfare conditions of laying hens in the EU, highlighting the varied national provisions and the lack of uniformity in standards across member states. The report emphasizes that stricter national regulations, such as bans on cages and increased minimum space, have led to improved welfare conditions for laying hens. However, overcrowding has been identified as a main issue. The report will guide the European Commission's review of animal welfare regulations, which is scheduled for the end of the year, focusing on transport of animals, welfare of pigs, calves, meat birds, and reviewing the welfare of dairy cows and other birds in the coming months.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The European Commission presented a few days ago an audit report on the official controls of the welfare conditions of laying hens. In it he concludes that "national provisions are very diverse and cover many different areas, which explains why the welfare conditions of laying hens are not uniform in the European Union." Many Member States have adopted stricter than common national provisions for the protection of laying hens: some prohibit the use of cages, others increase the minimum space per animal or require natural lighting. Regardless of the level of requirement, "animals generally benefit from better welfare conditions when clearer or additional national provisions have been adopted," stresses Brussels. Laying hens are one of the animal species for which European legislation sets specific standards. According to the Commission, the Member States carry out official controls that generally guarantee correct application of these requirements. The main deficiency found is ...

Source: Agropopular