Animal welfare legislation alters European egg production - Current Trends

Animal Welfare Legislation Alters European Egg Production

Confinement buildings and cage housing became fixtures of egg production in the United States in the 1940's and in Western Europe and elsewhere a decade later. Recently, however, caging has been challenged in Western Europe by animal welfare activists. Resulting legislated limits on caging put affected farmers at a competitive disadvantage to those elsewhere using cages to the fullest.

Egg Industry Shifts to Cages

Western Europe's commercial egg industry nearly completed its shift to cage housing two decades ago. For example, in the early 1960's only about 20 percent of layers in the United Kingdom were caged, usuall in single-bird cages (fig. 1). Cages were adopted by farmers because of cleaner eggs and less cannibalism and feather pecking. The cage system also freed the farmers from the problem of land becoming "fowl sick" through harboring disease organisms in the droppings.

By the mid 1970's, the proportion of layers housed in cages in the United Kingdom had risen to over 90 percent. Capital costs were further reduced and output increased by putting several birds in a cage. Feeding, watering, and egg collection can all be done automatically. With higher stocking densities the houses remain warmer during the winter. Feed use rises 1.5 percent for each 1 degree C that the temperature falls below 20 degrees C, the optimum for feed conversion efficiency (6).

All these economic advantages contributed to the rapid shift of the industry to cages. However, some people argue that the restricted movement in cages harms layer welfare. The birds can barely preen, can stretch their limbs only to a small extent, and can barely turn around. They cannot dust bathe, the method by which a bird cleans itself. There is no real exercise in the cage.

The conditions led to a public debate about the welfare of hens. Subsequent legislation increased cage space per bird or banned cages altogether.

EC Layer Welfare Laws

The Council of Ministers of the European Community (EC) in 1986 established space and other requirements for caged layers. These requirements applied to all newly built or newly used cages starting January 1, 1988, and will apply to all cages as of January 1, 1995 (3):

* At least 450 square centimeters

of space per bird;

* 10 centimeters of feed trough

space per bird;

* A continuous drinking channel or

two nipple drinkers or cup

drinkers per cage;

* 40 centimeters of height over 65

percent of the cage area and not

less than 35 centimeters at any

point; and

* Floors with slopes not exceeding

14 percent (steeper slopes are

permissible if the floor is not rectangular

wire mesh).

However, some West European countries in and outside of the EC have different standards. Switzerland will ban cages after December 31, 1991, reversing a 50-year-old innovation for confinement egg production (4). Cages may also be banned in Sweden and the Netherlands (5). Sweden and Denmark require that birds have 600 square centimeters of cage space (4, 5). UK legislation requires that by 1995 four-bird cages have 450 square centimeters per bird, three-bird cages 550 square centimeters, and single-bird cages 1,000 square centimeters (4).

Alternatives to Cages

Without cages, production costs rise because of more labor and feed requirements. Eggs laid decline (table 1 and fig. 2).

Table : Table 1 - The Index of inputs rises while output falls for selected alternative options to cages

                 Labor        Feed         Eggs
              Birds/person   Kg/hen   Number per hen/year
Cages        100             100             100
Deep litter   80              99              96
Pasture       18             107              85

Source: (7).

Alternatives to Cages

Without cages, production costs rise because of more labor and feed requirements. Eggs laid decline (table 1 and fig. 2).

With the deep litter system, layers are free to move about in their building, but cannot go outside. The lower stocking density makes it uneconomical to maintain the optimum building temperature for feed conversion during the winter, so feed conversion during the winter, so feed consumption will be higher than with cages.

The pasture (or free-range) system allows layers to go outside their building. This system can be operated in many ways. At one extreme, small portable houses for the birds are moved regularly to clean ground to prevent disease buildup. Feed consumption will be high because the houses will be cold in the winter. More labor is needed to move feed to each house and collect the eggs. Egg yield per bird falls. At the other extreme, large stationary houses with automatic feeding and environmental control are used. Because these buildings are not moved, however, there are disease build-up problems on the pastureland.

Cost per egg rises as housing intensity declines and the layers are exposed to more weather hazards, disease problems, and predators, if outside.

While there may be free trade among EC countries by 1992, higher legislated production standards in some countries put affected producers at a cost-of-production disadvantage.

References

[1.] Elson, H. A. "Poultry Management

Systems - Looking to the Future."

Zootecnica International, March

1987, pp. 46-50.

[2.] Hann, C.M. "Factors Determining

the Development of the Poultry Industry

in the United Kingdom."

Zootecnica International, October

1981, pp. 24-28.

[3.] Hill, Mandy, "Welfare - What are

the Costs?" Zootecnica International,

September 1988, pp. 48-50.

[4.] "I.E.C. Country Reports." Canada

Poultryman, November 1987, pp. 30-36.

[5.] "I.E.C. Conference." World

Poultry, November 1989, pp. 28-42.

[6.] Michie, W. "Eggs Without Batteries."

Span, Vol. 30, No. 2, 1987.

[7.] Sainsbury, David. Farm Animal

Welfare. London: Collins, 1986.

PHOTO : Figure 1

PHOTO : Figure 2

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