More Space for Chickens

This is the terminology adopted by Council Directive (EC) No 74/1999 of 19 July 1999 Laying Down Minimum Standards for the protection of Laying Hens [1999] OJ L 203/53 (‘Laying Hens Directive’). In Australia the terms ‘cage system’, ‘barn system’ and ‘free-range system’ are used: PIMC. Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals – Domestic Poultry (4th ed, 2002) (‘Poultry Code’).

European Food Safety Authority, ‘The Welfare Aspects of Various Systems of Keeping Laying Hens’ (2005) 197 The EFSA Journal 1, 14.

LayWel , Welfare Implications of Changes in Production Systems for Laying Hens (2006) 3 <laywel.eu/web/pdf/deliverable%2071%20welfare%20assessment.pdf> at 28 October 2009.

See, eg, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (Vic) s 6(c). Exceptions include the New South Wales and Tasmanian legislation: See Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW) s 5; Animal Welfare Act 1993 (Tas) s 8.

See Animal Welfare Regulations 2000 (SA) reg 10, which provides that a person described in an entry in Schedule 2 of the Regulations must, in carrying out an activity described in that entry, ensure compliance with the code of practice specified in that entry. A maximum penalty of $2500 may be imposed for non-compliance.

PIMC, above n 1.

See Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (General) Regulation 2006 (NSW) Pt 2A; Animal Care and Protection Regulation 2002 (Qld) Pt 2 Div 2; Animal Welfare Regulations 2000 (SA) Pt 3B; Animal Welfare Regulations 2008 (Tas) rr 9–10; Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Domestic Fowl) Regulations 2006 (Vic); Animal Welfare (Commercial Poultry) Regulations 2008 (WA). These regulations generally address the requirements for cage size, stocking density and access to food and water, but do not incorporate many of the provisions of the Poultry Code which cover matters such as air flow, light, temperature and noise.

Poultry Code, above n 1, section 2.3.

See, eg, Animal Welfare ( Hens Ban Battery ) Bill 2008 (Tas); Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT) s 9A, which has never been commenced.

DAFF, The Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (rev ed, 2008) <daff.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/749204/aaws-strategy-jun08.pdf> at 28 October 2009.

See AHA, ‘Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines’ <animalwelfarestandards.net.au> at 28 October 2009.

Laying Hens Directive, above n 1, 54.

Council Directive (EEC) No 113/1986 of 25 March 1986 Laying Down Minimum Standards for the Protection of Hens Kept in Battery Cages [1986] OJ L 74 / 35 was anulled by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland v Council of the European Communities (C-131/86) [1986] ECR 905.

Consolidated Version of the Treaty Establishing the European Community 29 December 2006 [2006] OJ C 321/1, 153 (art 249).

Ibid.

See Council Directive (EEC) No 166/1988 of 7 March 1988 Complying with the Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case 131/86 (Annulment of Council Directive 86/113/EEC of 25 March 1986 Laying Down Minimum Standards for the Protection of Laying Hens Kept in Battery Cages) [1988] OJ L 74 / 83, 86 (art 9). Although the Poultry Code does specify a year in which it is to be reviewed, an in-built independent reporting process is lacking. An earlier review date can be set if ‘technologies offering significant welfare benefits are available’. There is no process established to monitor any potential developments, and no criteria which, when satisfied, will prompt a revision of the date.

Scientific Veterinary Commission Animal Welfare Section, Report on the Welfare of Laying Hens (1996) 109 <http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/oldcomm4/out33_en.pdf> at 28 October 2009.

Wilkins D , ‘The Politics of Hen Welfare’, in Perry Graham C (ed), Welfare of the Laying Hen (2004) 32, 34.

Appleby Michael C , ‘The EU Ban on Battery Cages: History and Prospects’ in The State of the Animals (2003) 159, 166.

Laying Hens Directive, above n 1, 53.

Poultry Code, above n 1, 1.

Laying Hens Directive, above n 1, 55 (art 5(2)).

Commission Directive (EC) No 4/2002 of 30 January On the Registration of Establishments Keeping Laying Hens, covered by Council Directive 1999/74/EC [2002] OJ L 030/44.

Laying Hens Directive, above n 1, 55 (art 8).

Laying Hens Directive, above n 1, 56 (art 10).

European Food Safety Authority, above n 2, 9.

Ibid 14.

LayWel , above n 3, 3.

Ibid 8.

Ibid 34.

Activists have opposed the painful process of beak trimming as well as advocating the use of alternative systems. However, they have been challenged with the reality that birds living in large flocks in alternative systems may be found to behave abnormally and to injure one another at a greater rate when their beaks have not been trimmed.

LayWel , above n 3, 30.

Commission of the European Communities, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Various Systems of Rearing Laying Hens in Particular Those Covered by Directive 1999/74/EC (2008) 6.

Eurobarometer, Attitudes of Consumers towards the Welfare of Farmed Animals (2005) 50.

Commission of the European Communities, above n 33, 10.

Ibid 9.

Ibid 8.

Examples are Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

Eighty per cent of respondents in surveys conducted in the Australian Capital Territory believed that battery cages are cruel.