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Page 4 %u2013 National Poultry Newspaper, March 2025 www.poultrynews.com.auFree range versus caged. The fight continues.COMMITTED cagedegg producers sometimes preach %u201cI told you so%u201d when news lands of free-range farms being hit with avian influenza and forced to destock.Such alarming news clearly reinforces, rightly or wrongly, the widely shared cagedegg community view that biosecurity will always be compromised when chickens have access to daylight and the outdoors.I guess it%u2019s understandable to an extent, as all caged-egg producers must phase out their %u2018battery%u2019 cages by 2036 and move on with an alternate production system, or exit the industry.According to the RSPCA, there%u2019s been some confusion about what this all means for egg buyers. Hence, in its January e-newsletter, the RSPCA laid out the facts, at least as it sees them.I%u2019m happy to share below the edited version of what was detailed.Layer hens in battery cages are unable to express natural behaviours that they have a strong motivation to do, such as perching or dust bathing, and risk chronic health conditions such as osteoporosis due to their restricted movement. We know good layer hen welfare simply can%u2019t be achieved in a battery cage and this is why the use of battery cages must not continue. Many brands and producers have already seen the value in improving hen welfare by transitioning away from cage eggs. Major retailers Aldi, Coles and Woolworths have all been working over the past decade to remove cage eggs from their shelves completely by 2025.Aldi has been steadily working towards its commitment of eggs sold in cartons to be from cage-free hens by 2025.Way back in 2013, Coles completed the move for all its ownbrand eggs sold in cartons to be from hens in cage-free systems. In 2019, Coles transitioned all supplierbranded eggs sold in cartons to be cage free in Western Australia and did the same in Victoria in 2022. Coles is well on the way to completing its transition of all supplier-branded eggs sold in cartons to cage free and has also been working on going cage free with eggs used as ingredients in its own-brand products, such as baked goods, sandwiches and sauces.In 2013, Woolworths made the commitment for all eggs sold to transition to be from hens in cage-free systems. By 2015, Woolworths completed the transition on its own-brand eggs sold in cartons and has been working closely with its suppliers to transition all supplier-branded eggs sold in cartons to be from cage-free hens. Like Coles, Woolworths is also transitioning all its ownbrand products where eggs are used as ingredients to be from hens in cage-free systems.But it is not only retailers making moves to cage-free eggs. For example, Grill%u2019d Healthy Burgers has used free-range eggs since it first opened, and McDonald%u2019s made the switch to cage-free eggs back in 2017. Many brands that use eggs in manufacturing their products are also moving to cage-free eggs by 2025. This means that by 2025, conscious shoppers will be able to find even more products and places serving cagefree eggs.Right now, consumers have the power to be a real driving force for change in pushing for a faster phase out of cage eggs.While an endorsed phase out is welcome, allowing each state the discretion to decide when and how the phase out happens, this means there is a danger of this dragging on even longer than 2036, leaving millions more hens to suffer in cages. Cage fighting continues as final round bell tollsPh: 08 8359 1588 E: sales@titanfan.com.auMADE IN AUSTRALIA FOR AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONS SINCE 1990LOCALLY manufactured at Titan%u2019s factory 12-14 Kenworth Rd, Gepps Cross, South Australia 5094Stir Fan FH800/0.37kw/4 blade/1ph/3ph EC (variable speed 200 rpm %u2013 1000 rpm)ORIGINAL Stir Fan available ON/OFF 1ph/3phNEWLight eliminators available in 20mm and 40mm spacing Made to your specifications.Height: 1380mmWidth: 1380mmNEWHeight: 1380mmWidth: 1380mmDepth: 820mmWall Mounted FanWM1220/1.1kW/3B/3Ph/Direct DrivePart Number: PF8125Titan fans suitable for variable speed controls.Wall Mounted FanWM1220/1.5kW/6B/Belt DriveThe author was delighted when in South Australia in 2023 to come across this very slick looking pastured hen system. Clearly, the happy hens were rotated regularly onto fresh pasture.Price and not only welfare is often a decision maker for consumers when it comes to eggs. Note however, the author took this photo a year ago. While prices today would have likely changed, the relativity is likely similar. Point made.CantCommentby BRENDON CANT