Page 7 - National Poultry Newspaper

RSPCA calls for an end to barren battery cages
RECENTLY the RSPCA published an article on barren battery cages, ex- plaining the key terms.
ity to perch, nest or forage.” Conventional cages are defined in the article as “a term used by the egg indus- try to describe these small
enriched cage is a cage that includes opportunities for hens to express natural be- haviours, such as a perch, nest area, scratch pad and more space per bird.
systems consist of large sheds where birds are free to move around and lay their eggs in a nest.
national Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry – which cur- rently include a phase out of barren battery cages – on the agenda.
associated with poor ani- mal welfare, the industry chose instead to start call- ing them ‘conventional cages’.
and nine birds, with each having less floor space than an A4 sheet of paper within the cage.”
Having long been con- cerned about the welfare of Australian layer hens be- ing kept in barren battery cages, the RSPCA outlined a timeline of its work to free hens from these cages and why 2021 was the year it would finally succeed.
barren wire cages.”
“In the early 2000s, reg-
The RSPCA claim these furnished or enriched cag- es are not currently used in Australia at any large scale.
A free-range system is one where hens have ac- cess to an outdoor area during the day.
The RSPCA also noted it was aware of some unusual claims about battery cages from various sections of the egg industry and took the opportunity to clear up any confusion the claims may have caused.
This coincided with new regulations from 2008, re- quiring hens be given one hundred square centime- tres of extra space – mobile phone sized.
The RSPCA, in clos- ing, stated, “Whatever you choose to call them, it's time for these small, barren wire cages to go.”
The article goes on to clarify layer chicken in- dustry terms, including the term ‘battery cages’.
“The egg industry took the opportunity to re-brand theses cages as ‘conven- tional’, but a ‘conventional cage’ is still no different in any meaningful way to a barren battery cage and is just as bad for the hen’s welfare.”
In a recent e-newsletter, the RSPCA called on Aus- tralians to help end barren battery cages, asking the public to make their state and territory governments aware of their support to phase out battery cages.
In particular, a claim that battery cages are illegal and have been since 2008.
“Again, we thank you for your advocacy for Austral- ia’s hens.”
A layer hen is described as a breed of chicken bred to lay eggs, brown in colour with a red comb, express- ing normal behaviours of nesting, perching and for- aging.
According to the RSPCA, “This is simply untrue.”
The e-newsletter clari- fied, “This is also untrue – a number of hens are crowded into each battery cage, usually between four
ulations were changed to allow each layer hen a hun- dred square centimetres of extra space in barren bat- tery cages – that's about the size of an iPhone!
And go on to note, “They obviously offer some ben- efits over more crowded and barren battery cages, but because they don’t al- low hens to perform their full range of natural behav- iours, the RSPCA believes the needs and welfare of layer hens are best met in a well-managed cage-free system.”
At night, large flocks of free-range hens are kept in sheds or barns to keep them safe from predators.
Another claim to come to the RSPCA’s attention was that battery cages provide a form of ‘social housing for hens’, suggesting that hens may have previously been housed individually.
“We won't let a war of words distract us from the real issue – which is that these barren wire cages are bad for layer hens – but this information might be help- ful in conversations with your MP or others.
Whereas, a furnished or
Cage-free or barn-laid
State and territory agri- culture departments met in mid-August with the new
While the term ‘battery cage’ was coined by the egg industry itself, as bat- tery cages became strongly
For more information, visit rspca.org.au/take-ac tion/layer-hens
The articles states, “A battery cage is a small bar- ren wire cage that’s used to house egg-laying hens.”
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“It’s about 40cm tall and there are four to seven hens confined to each cage.
“They stand on a floor all day and night, with each hen having less space than a piece of A4 paper.
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“The cages are called ‘battery cages’ because the stacks of cages resemble the cells of a battery unit.”
The RSPCA refers to them as barren battery cages “because they’re just that – barren.”
“Hens in these cages ex- perience extreme confine- ment and behavioural re- striction, without the abil-
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National Poultry Newspaper, September 2021 – Page 7