In July 2023, all states and territories endorsed new national Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry which included a deadline to phase out battery cages. But most state governments are yet to legislate the agreed phase-out.
Why we need to act now
No animal should be forced to live in a battery cage. Hens suffer terribly in the cramped wire cages, denied their most basic natural behaviours like nesting, dustbathing and foraging. Due to lack of exercise and having to produce so many eggs, layer hens are prone to osteoporosis leading to painful broken bones. Meanwhile caged egg producers want to delay the phase out of cages.
New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia are stalling, and that’s where most of Australia’s layer hens are confined in cages. Please take action today calling on those state ministers to legislate to #CanTheCage.
