Sad anniversary for cage ban promise: 5 years of inaction

Animal welfare organisations gathered outside the European Commission in Brussels to mark the five-year anniversary of the unfulfilled commitment to propose legislation banning cages for farmed animals. The End the Cage Age coalition, represented by Anima International, organized the event, with activists dressed up as Commission staff inside a cage surrounded by paperwork, symbolizing five years of stalled legislation. MEPs attending the event used bolt cutters to demand action from the Commission.

In the EU, 300 million animals such as laying hens, pigs, rabbits, ducks, and quails are kept in cages for much of their lives, causing great harm to their well-being. Despite the Commission's promise in 2021 to propose legislation banning cages by 2023 in response to a citizens' initiative signed by 1.4 million people, the legislative proposal has been repeatedly postponed. Animal welfare advocates stress that the suffering of these animals in extreme confinement is unacceptable and has no place in a modern society that values animal welfare.