Egg sector in big push to oppose impending cage ban

The UK egg sector is mounting a major push to resist government plans to phase out enriched cage systems for laying hens, pullets and breeder layers.

The ongoing Defra-led consultation, applying across all four UK nations, proposes banning new cages from 2027 and phasing out all existing cages by 2032.

The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) warns this could undermine UK producers’ competitiveness, push egg product production overseas, and impose major costs.

See also: Defra to end cage egg production and lift lamb welfare

It has launched a lobbying campaign urging producers to write to their MPs and respond to the consultation before it closes on 9 March.

The BEIC has also produced a “lobbying pack” and a template letter to MPs.

BEIC chief executive Nick Allen said the proposed ban is one of the biggest challenges the industry has faced in decades, requiring “large-scale structural change” with serious cost and supply implications.

UK production system

Currently, 82% of the UK national laying flock is in “cage-free” systems, with the vast majority (71%) being free range.

Industry data also shows that:

• 60% of UK eggs are sold “in shell” to the retail market
• 25% are sold to the price-sensitive food service sector
• 15% are taken out of their shell and manufactured into a variety of egg products.

“At present, most egg products and virtually all imported shell eggs come from the EU and are produced to the same regulatory standards as those in the UK,” said Mr Allen.

But he warned that the UK’s current trade and import policies continue to allow tariff-free imports of eggs and egg products produced to lower welfare standards.

This includes eggs from conventional “battery” cage systems that are illegal in the UK, but remain lawful in most non-EU countries.

“If the government insists on continuing with this unnecessary policy and interference in our sector, it must, at least, apply a ban on the import of eggs/egg products at the same time,” said a BEIC statement.

Ceredigion free-range egg producer Ben Edkins, who keeps 32,000 laying hens, told Farmers Weekly he is concerned about an increase in imports.

“Imported eggs coming in with lower welfare standards is a big issue, and it just doesn’t seem fair,” he said.

Planning obstacles

Producers are also concerned about getting the required planning permissions if they have to convert to cage-free systems – a process the BEIC said is not just lengthy, but could also require producers to buy more land.

“Free-range production is not simply a change of equipment inside an existing shed and typically requires full planning permission from the relevant local authority, along with environmental assessments in some cases,” added Mr Allen.