EU Parliament calls for a ban on cage management by 2027

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The European Parliament wants laying hens no longer to be kept in cages by 2027

Photo: Roland Weihrauch / dpa

The European Parliament has called for a ban on the keeping of farm animals in cages in the EU.

On Thursday, Parliament called on the EU Commission to create the legal basis for a gradual move away from this type of animal husbandry by 2027 at the latest.

Alternatives to keeping chickens and pigs in cages existed and would have to be expanded in the member states, the MEPs said.

They emphasized the importance of a sufficiently long transition phase for farmers and ranchers.

The livestock keepers could be trained and otherwise supported so that they are not disadvantaged and livestock breeding is not relocated to places outside the EU where the ban does not apply.

Parliament also called for the fattening of ducks and geese for the foie gras, a specialty popular in France, to be banned.

"The conditions under which animals often spend their very short life are not keeping animals, but simply cruelty to animals," said the Green MEP Sven Giegold.

The resolution stems from a European citizens' initiative.

Activists had collected almost 1.4 million signatures with the "End the Cage Age" campaign by October last year.

So they had enough support that the EU Commission has to deal with the initiative.

mjm / AFP