Govt funding for improved welfare for laying hens

[Perris]

This is a bit of positive news: our govt putting some money where their mouth has been for quite a long time in order to make conditions better for industrial egg layers (chickens that were called battery hens when they lived in battery cages).
Hooray! A journey of 1000 miles starts with a couple of steps.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-who-can-apply-and-what-the-grant-can-pay-for

 

[Debbie292d]

Nice for the UK! Maybe the U.S. and other countries will get on board.

 

[Nym]

Conventional – battery – cages are generally about 50 centimetres square in size and will be phased out in Australia by 2036 under the new standards.

From this year, all new chicken cages must be installed with nest areas and layer hens must also have access to perches or platforms and a scratch area to allow them to behave more naturally.

Major supermarket retailers Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have all pledged to phase out or ban battery cages from their supply chains by 2025.

Lives of farmed chickens set to improve under new welfare standards | August 2022

"Currently around 49 per cent of laying hens are free-range, 19 per cent are in a barn and only about 32 per cent are currently in conventional cages."

 

[Penpal]

In Michigan battery cages have been on a phase out for five years, being total Dec 31, 2024.