Page 6 - Demo

Page 6 %u2013 National Poultry Newspaper, December 2024 www.poultrynews.com.auBATTERY cages for layer hens should have no place in our egg production system.Sure, I hear the many claims by battery cage proponents, including that banning them will mean reduced productivity and likely higher prices for consumers.But those advocates are clearly tone deaf.Increasingly, the more the public sees and understands what the lives of hens in battery cages look like, the more they will refuse to shell out for eggs laid under such brutal conditions.And I thank well informed science-based welfare advocating organisations, such as Australian Alliance for Animals, for increasing public awareness.For this, I give them a AAA rating.Having said that, I also acknowledge %u2013 but don%u2019t condone the nature of their actions %u2013 some of the %u2018exposures%u2019 revealed by radical animal activists and their organisations.Anyway, on a positive note%u2026 back to my AAA-rated Australian Alliance for Animals, which is committed to ensuring all states and territories implement and enforce new regulations to phase out battery cages. In their view, the continued use of battery cages by egg producers demonstrates the undue influence of industry interests over the welfare of animals.In 2023, the National Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry were finalised and included a battery cage phase-out period between 2032-2036. While this was a significant milestone for the campaign, there is still work to be done. Though all states and territories have agreed to the phase-out, governments are yet to implement this change through legislation.Australian Alliance for Animals, as part of a national coalition of animal protection groups, is advocating for all states and territories to accelerate the enforcement of the phase out and to fast track the transition to more humane cage-free production systems.After what they describe as a staggering seven-year revision of the National Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry, the government set a distant 2036 deadline for phasing out battery cages. Annually in Australia, more than 5 million intelligent inquisitive hens are deprived of their natural behaviours by being locked in barren wire cages with less than an A4 sheet of paper of space per hen. This decade-long deadline will mean up to 55 million more hens will suffer, despite viable alternatives being readily available.In response, Australian Alliance for Animals actively engaged with political parties during state elections in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania to secure support for a shortened phase-out period. The Australian Greens and Animal Justice Party were the only parties to give their full support in all three states. In NSW, Labor provided partial support.Western Australia%u2019s Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis was the only minister to pledge that her state wanted to ban cage eggs by 2032 or earlier.Australian Alliance for Animals continues to meet policymakers to advocate for the adoption and enforcement of the phase out of battery cages and push for a reduced phase-out period.According to the charity:%u2022 Currently, Australia has more than 5 million hens confined to battery cages %u2022 Cage production systems account for 55 percent of the egg industry %u2022 Several countries, including Switzerland (1992), Germany (2006), Norway (2012), Bhutan (2012), all European Union member states (2012), India (2017) and New Zealand (2022), have nationally banned battery cages, with Mexico, Israel and Canada in the process of phasing out battery cages %u2022 Battery cages pose significant welfare issues for hens, restricting important natural behaviours such as foraging, nesting, perching and stretching their wings %u2013 these cramped and barren conditions lead to physical ailments, including bone weakness, feather loss and cause hens immense psychological stress on a daily basis %u2022 The government%u2019s decision to phase out battery cages was largely driven by growing consumer concerns regarding the welfare of hens %u2022 An increasing number of Australians are purchasing eggs produced using alternative housing systems, such as free-range and barn laid %u2022 During the national poultry standards public consultation, a staggering majority of a record 167,000 community submissions strongly supported the end of battery cages. My blood boils at the thought of buying and eating eggs laid by caged hens and I think consumers more broadly are no longer happy to shell out for them.AAA battery rating for Australian Alliance for AnimalsCantCommentby BRENDON CANTfifffflffifl%u001aflffi%u0019%u0018fl%u0017%u0016%u2122%u0015ffl%u0014%u0013ffi%u0012%u0011%u2122fifffflffifl%u001a%u0019%u0018%u0017%u0016%u0015%u0017ffi%u001a%u0014%u0016%u0017ffl%u0013%u0012%u0011%u0013fflff%u0010%u0013%u000f%u001a%u000e%u001a%u0017ffi%u000cfflfl%u0018%u0017%u000bfflffi%u001a%u0018%u0009%u0008ffifl%u2122fifffflffifl%u001a%u0019ffl%u0018flflflfl%u0017flflfl%u0016ffl%u0015%u0019%u0014ffiffl%u0013fl%u0012%u0011%u0011%u0014ffffi%u0015fl%u0010fflffiffl%u000f%u000efl%u000cfl%u000b%u0014ff%u0013%u0015flflflflflflflfl%u0009%u0008%u0007%u0006fl%u0005%u0004%u0009fl%u0003%u0007%u0009flflflflflflflflflflflflfifffflffi%u0011%u0011%u0001fflffi%u0019ffl%u0013%u0081%u000effl%u0013%u0015%u0081%u008d%u0011%u0014%u008dfflff%u0007%u0018%u000ffflff%u000cffl%u001afififf%u001affl%u0018%u0008ff%u000b%u001aff%u000f%u0008%u001a%u0015ffiffffl%u001affl%u0006ffi%u001afififfffl%u000cff%u000f%u001a%u0006ffi%u0017%u0005%u001affl%u0006%u0013%u0019%u001a%u0019%u0016%u0010%u0010ffiflfi%u0018flfl%u0013ffi%u0008%u001aff%u0015%u0018%u0016ffl%u001aPh: 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/3ph NEWLight 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 Drive