Uncaged for good?

New national animal welfare standards for poultry were announced last Thursday after seven long years of deliberations. Significantly, the new standards finally set a deadline to end the use of battery cages—but not until 2036. 

That means there’s work to be done to #CanTheCage much more quickly. Otherwise, up to 55 million more hens could be forced to suffer in battery cages until the 14-year phase out process is complete.   

Why is a phase out of battery cages significant?  

 The poultry standards determine the conditions in which several hundred million Australian layer hens, meat chickens, turkeys and ducks will live their lives.     

The confinement of hens to battery cages is one of the most egregious welfare issues that the poultry standards deal with. Battery cages are no larger than an A4 piece of paper, and prevent a host of natural behaviours such as roosting, nesting, foraging, and dust-bathing. Imagine being stuck in a cramped economy airline seat with no ability to stand up or stretch, or get off the plane – ever!  

We have maintained for years that the cruelty of battery cages is out of step with modern animal welfare science and community expectations, both in Australia and abroad. While 30 of the 36 OECD countries have already outlawed or begun winding up battery cages, Australia has been lagging behind.   

The review of the poultry standards began in 2015 and presented a rare opportunity to eradicate battery cages nationally.  

There were almost 170,000 submissions to the public consultation process, the vast majority of which called for a cage ban.  

As usual, powerful egg industry lobbyists attempted to derail the review all together. Allegations of colluding with industry were even levelled at NSW government officials. Fortunately, an independent panel was appointed in 2019 to break the stalemate and draft the new standards.   

That panel recommended that the standards put an end to battery cages between 2032 and 2036 on welfare grounds, with a staggered phase out depending on the age of the caged systems being used.   

Finally, after a long wait, agriculture ministers endorsed the independent panel’s standards, setting a 2036 deadline for battery cages.  

However, the work’s not over… 
 

Where do we go from here?  

 The phase out of battery cages won’t have legal effect unless and until each state and territory passes its own law to implement the national poultry standards. Even then, up to 55 million more hens could suffer in battery cages if their use is allowed all the way up until 2036.   

This is where hens need your help – we need to tell state governments to do the right thing and legislate more rapid phase outs of battery cages. 

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What does the poultry standards review process reveal about Australia’s animal welfare system?   

 Animal welfare standards can only provide a good life for the animals whose lives they govern if they are informed by, and based on, modern science and community expectations as to what ‘good welfare’ looks like. 

During the poultry standards review, some agriculture departments and industry groups took advantage of the ill-defined process to sideline independent science and community voices to protect caged-egg producers’ interests.  

This is indicative of two bigger problems:  

• Agriculture departments are tasked with both fostering a prosperous agriculture industry and regulating animal welfare, yet sometimes these priorities can be in direct conflict 
• The process for setting animal welfare standards lacks rigour and safeguards for ensuring that modern scientific evidence and community expectations are prioritised. 

Australians made it loud and clear at the 2022 election that independence and integrity in politics and government decision-making matters. Currently though, when it comes to animal welfare, the system is skewed in favour of industry’s economic interests.  

That’s why we need an independent office of animal welfare to take charge of animal welfare regulation and provide a consistent, transparent and legislated process for how standards are developed.   

We are part of the Australian Alliance for Animals working to tackle these underlying inequalities in Australia’s animal welfare system. You can read more about the work of the Alliance here.  

Encouragingly, the Albanese Government has pledged to restore federal leadership over animal welfare with the following commitments:  

• Invest $1 million each year to fund the ‘Inspector-General for Animal Welfare’ to oversee national animal welfare strategy, with the aim of increasing accountability and transparency in animal welfare policy 
• Invest $5 million over four years to renew the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy, an important national initiative which was defunded by the Coalition Government almost a decade ago. 

HSI looks forward to meeting with new federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to discuss these commitments and a legislated process for animal welfare standard setting.  

Battery cage bans around the world: 

Our colleagues at Humane Society United States have also worked hard to get American states to prohibit the use of caged facilities and the sale of eggs from caged facilities.  

Eleven states ban the use of cages for egg-laying hens: 

• Arizona – regulation passed in 2022; effective January 1, 2025 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is October 1, 2022, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2025) 
• California – ballot measure in 2018; effective January 1, 2022 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is January 1, 2020, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2022) (improved upon a 2008 ballot measure)  

• Colorado – legislation passed in 2020; effective January 1, 2025 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is January 1, 2023, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2025) 
• Massachusetts – ballot measure in 2016; updated by legislation in 2021 to mandate cage-free conditions; effective January 1, 2022 
• Michigan – legislation passed in 2019; effective December 31, 2024 (improves upon legislation passed in 2009) 
• Nevada – legislation passed in 2021; effective January 1, 2024 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is July 1, 2022, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2024)  
• Ohio – regulation passed 2011; moratorium on new battery cages effective Sept. 29, 2011 (bans use of *battery cages,* not all cages) 

• Oregon – legislation passed in 2019; effective January 1, 2024 (improves upon legislation passed in 2011) 
• Rhode Island – legislation passed in 2018; effective July 1, 2026 
• Utah – legislation passed in 2021; effective Jan 1, 2025 
• Washington – legislation passed in 2019; effective Jan 1, 2024 (improves upon legislation passed in 2011)  

Eight states ban the sale of eggs from cage facilities: 

• Arizona – regulation passed in 2022; effective January 1, 2025 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is October 1, 2022, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2025) 
• California – ballot measure in 2018; effective January 1, 2022 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is January 1, 2020, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2022) (improved upon a 2010 law)  
• Colorado – legislation passed in 2020; effective January 1, 2025 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is January 1, 2023, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2025) 
• Massachusetts – ballot measure in 2016; updated by legislation in 2021 to mandate cage-free conditions and the inclusion of egg products; effective January 1, 2022 

• Michigan – legislation passed in 2019; effective December 31, 2024 (improves upon legislation passed in 2009) 
• Nevada – legislation passed in 2021; effective January 1, 2024 (mandate for 144 sq. inches is July 1, 2022, and the cage-free requirement is January 1, 2024) 
• Oregon – legislation passed in 2019; effective January 1, 2024 (improves upon legislation passed in 2011) 
• Washington –   legislation passed in 2019; effective Jan 1, 2024 (improves upon legislation passed in 2011)