Cage-Free Challenges

In response to the successful End the Cage Age European Citizens Initiative (ECI) initiative, signed by over 1.4 million EU citizens and led by Compassion, the European Commission made a clear and legally binding commitment to introduce legislative proposals to end cage farming by the end of 2023. Unfortunately, the last Commission failed the present these proposals.

Despite this, the public demand for change is undeniable. According to the 2023 Eurobarometer, 94% of EU citizens believe it is important that farmed animals are provided enough space to be able to move around freely, lie down, and stand up, while 89% specifically oppose keeping farm animals in individual cages.  

Additionally, the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture reflects a wide-spread consensus across the agrifood sector that cages must be phased out and calls for a proposal to revise the Animal Welfare legislation by 2026 at the latest.

While many companies are working to fulfil their cage-free commitments, a major obstacle is the lack of European-wide legislation. Action is crucial to support and solidify the progress made by food companies and to enable European egg producers to transition to future-fit cage-free systems. Compassion is urging the EU Commission to push forward with its proposals to phase out cages, not only for laying hens but also for pigs, rabbits and other species.

In the meantime, voluntary standards play a critical role in driving change while we await legislative updates. Already, 60.8 % of laying hens in the EU are in cage-free systems (agriculture.ec.europa.eu). However, challenges persist in certain markets. Despite the widespread availability of cage-free eggs in Europe, transitioning to humane production systems has proven difficult in countries like Poland and Spain. Recent case studies on these markets aim to uncover the barriers preventing this shift and identify strategies to overcome them.

Poland 

Poland remains an important player in the European egg market, producing  7.9% of the total number of eggs in 2022, and the 6^th largest producer after France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands. Poland is also the 2^nd biggest exporter of eggs in the EU (after The Netherlands), with 17.9% of total EU exports in 2022. ().

Caged systems remain the most common production system used in Poland, although the proportion of caged hens is gradually decreasing, from 81% in 2020 to 71,8% in 2022. In 2022, 21,3% of laying hens were kept in indoor barn systems, 6,2% in free range systems, and 0,7% in organic systems (agriculture.ec.europa.eu).

The war between Russia and Ukraine during 2022 and 2023 has had a negative impact on transition to cage free eggs. Energy price hikes and the rising cost of fertiliser and feed have impacted the market and impeded new investment in cage free systems.

Barn egg production is about 20% (free range approx. 30%) more expensive than caged production. When market prices are low, "welfare premiums” on eggs may ensue. However, during major crises such as the 2022/2023 war in Ukraine, the profitability of egg production in cage-free systems decreases compared to caged systems due to the escalating costs.

The total cost of transitioning from caged production to barn production (aviaries) is estimated between 1.7 billion and 2.1 billion zloty ( Odejście od chowu klatkowego zwierząt gospodarskich w Polsce. Koszty i korzyści. Analiza społeczno-ekonomiczna. Jarosław Urbański)" The link is: https://www.zobsie.pl/raporty/26-odejcie-od-chowu-klatkowego-zwierzt-gospodarskich-w-polsce-koszty-i-korzyci-analiza-spoeczno-ekonomiczna)

Other barriers slowing down the transition to cage-free production in Poland during last 2 years include (bestpracticehens.eu)

• The import of cheap, low welfare (caged) eggs from Ukraine allowed on preferential conditions to enter the EU market.
• The lack of governmental support and complicated legal procedures in Poland.
• Insufficient education on how to implement higher welfare systems, which has caused those farmers who have moved to barn or free-range systems experiencing difficulties with implementation (rearing and production systems are not synced, farms are not properly designed, personnel are not trained).
• The absence of EU legislation supporting cage-free production, which would provide clear direction and stable perspectives for the industry, as well as creating a level playing field and protecting the EU market from cheap, caged eggs from other countries.

Despite these difficulties, we are encouraged to see industry progressing with their cage free commitments. Leading retailers Biedronka, Kaufland, Carrefour, Lidl, Auchan, Żabka, Aldi, Netto, Schiever made cage free commitments several years ago and are continually reporting year-on-year progress.

These companies are to be applauded with some not only having achieved their goals to be 100% cage free for shell eggs, but they have also extended their commitments to include all products containing eggs sold under their own brands:

In challenging times, Poland is making good progress in its cage-free transitions, and millions of laying hens are profiting from better welfare conditions.

Spain

In Spain, cage-free egg production has increased by a 15% in the last year, now accounting for 36% of the total volume of eggs sold. The number of cage-free hens has increased by 18%, up to 14.86 million hens. That means that a further 2.3 million birds are now in cage free systems.

The percentage of caged hens in Spain remains high at 68.6% of the national flock, second only to Poland, despite the highest year-on-year decreases recorded.-

The various operators involved in the egg sector have reported difficulty in making progress on their cage free commitments related to several issues/factors. Manufacturers, for example, report the following issues:

• There is a shortage of cage-free eggs and the ones that are available are costly. This means using them for basic products such as biscuits, cakes cereals, etc. is unprofitable for own brand products.
• There has been no demand to supply cage-free eggs from third parties (e.g., Retailers), creating a situation where producers are unwilling to invest in cage-free systems
• A high volume of Spanish production is exported to developing countries where there is a significantly lower market for cage-free eggs.

The main retailers in Spain already have a cage-free commitment.

Lidl, Alcampo and Grupo Avícola Rujamar have already reached 100% of their commitments, and there are more committed and reporting their progress every year, such as Carrefour Spain, DIA Group, Eroski and Aldi Spain.

In the producer sector, we highlight Huevos Guillén, which continues to make great progress in its transition process.

These commitments are driven by a growing awareness from Spanish consumers about the provenance of their food and support for cage-free production.

The USA’s cage free market has been growing steadily since a large shift in 2016 due to consumer demands for higher welfare systems. As of October 2023 an estimated 38% of the market in the US is cage free (www.ers.usda.gov), a significant increase from 15% in 2018. Cage-Free legislation for laying hens have only been passed in 10 states and (ers.usda.gov, www.ers.usda.gov ) which may prevent complete sourcing of higher welfare eggs as they may not be available in specific areas. While the cage free market has grown in the US, the shift in Canada has pivoted towards enriched cage systems for laying hens. Enriched cages are not acceptable higher welfare systems.

Enriched Cages in Canada

Canada's cage-free egg movement started in a similar fashion to the United States in 2016 amid heavy consumer dissent about conventional caged systems for egg-laying hens.

While farming practices are shifting away from conventional cages to cage-free systems in the United States, enriched cages have become the new normal for laying hen housing in Canada. Enriched cages are similar to conventional cages, just with slightly (~20%) more space to move around, and small areas in the cage dedicated to “enrichments”, such as a nesting area, perching bar, and dustbathing mat. While these “furnished cages” are a slight improvement from their predecessor, in terms of space these are still cages.

Enriched cages are not higher welfare

Hens housed in enriched cages cannot fly up to a high perch to escape being feather pecked, their litter area is limited to a small plastic mat with a sprinkling of feed for foraging, and effective dustbathing is not possible for all hens on the predominantly wire cage floors.

Research (hen-welfare-in-alternative-systems.pdf) has shown enriched cages fail to provide hens with the variety of spaces they need to perform many of their natural behaviors important to their welfare, including perching, foraging, dustbathing, wing flapping and stretching.

Tiers of crowded enriched cages stacked in barns also make it difficult for the farmers to inspect the hens, meaning injured birds are often left to suffer and die unnoticed.

For the most part, the Canadian egg industry has remained caged. The current percentage of cage-free egg production is approximately 17%, a mere 3% increase from 2018. In contrast, egg production from enriched cages has increased by about 17% (from 14% to 32%) within that same timeframe (Egg Farmers of Canada, 2022). Sadly, enriched cages have been heralded by the Canadian egg industry as the solution to transitioning away from battery cage systems. But enriched systems are still a cage, so cannot be seen as anything but misguided, and a risky investment not fit for the future.

Canadians want cage free eggs

The desire for a cage-free future has been expressed by Canadian residents. In a recent survey conducted by Bryant Research, 75% of Canadian residents believe that enriched cages are unsuitable environments for laying hens. Furthermore, 79% of respondents agree that food companies should develop commitment policies that ban cages for egg-laying hens within their supply chain (Bryant Research, 2023). This data demonstrates consumer demand for eggs from cage-free hens in Canada. Unfortunately, producers are actively transitioning and investing in systems that do not deliver on the improved welfare standards that Canadian consumers expect.

Despite the rise of enriched cages, there are still Canadian food companies that remain committed to improving the welfare of laying hens by sourcing cage-free eggs. As shown in other regions, increased consumer support, industry pressure and producer transparency are essential in reducing caged systems for laying hens. With these practices in place, Canadian companies can deliver on their cage-free eggs commitments and their promises to Canadian consumers to meaningfully improve laying hen .

An estimated 89.2% of commercial egg production is from conventional cages in the Asia-Pacific region, with just 1.4% of hens in free-range and organic systems (Guyonnet,  ). However, the Asia-Pacific market is the fastest-growing cage-free market due to increased demand, product innovation, and increased disposable income.

China

The implementation of 2025 cage-free commitments in China are slow. For example, Aldi is committed to being cage free (on shell eggs only) by 2025, however the retailer is reporting no progress yet.

Cage-free egg production accounts for only 10% of China’s annual output (which is over 600 billion eggs; FAO, 2022) and therefore it is difficult for retailers to meet their supply requirements (The Poultry Site, 2022).

The term “cage-free” (非笼养) is not commonly used in China’s market at present, and no peer-reviewed literature has examined consumer preferences for cage-free eggs in depth. There may be a lack of awareness of what “cage-free” means; in a survey by FAI Farms and IQC in 2020, 80% of respondents reported being unsure of what “cage-free” eggs are and do not recognise the value of cage-free production (The Poultry Site, 2022). Consumers tend to have a greater focus on things like food safety and price. Cage-free eggs can cost up to three times as much as caged eggs, and consumers may not be incentivised to pay more for higher welfare products. This may be due to a lack of education, clear labelling and messaging on pack, and on marketing the higher welfare attributes of cage-free eggs. (Yang, 2011; The Poultry Site, 2022). (reviewed in Chen et al., 2023)

Along with a lack of specific farm animal welfare legislation and standards, producers and food companies may lack incentives to move to cage-free egg production. For example, they may not see an immediate return on investment and there is a lack of availability of differentiated markets, especially for newly transitioned producers (

While it's true that progress among international brands promoting cage-free practices in China has been relatively slow in recent years, the companies we've engaged with remain resolute in their conviction that animal welfare and cage-free eggs are in line with the core principles of sustainable livestock development. They are willing to actively participate in this transformation and remain committed to these principles.

We've been proactively working with retailers to encourage the adoption of cage-free eggs in the market, and  maintain close collaboration with egg producers on  the feasibility and quality of cage-free practices.