Furnished cage

History and legislation

Battery cages have already banned in several countries including all European Union member states (since 2012 under European Union Council Directive 1999/74/EC), Norway (since 2012) and Switzerland (since 1992). New Zealand will phase out battery cages by 2022 and Canada by 2036. Prototype commercial furnished cage systems were being developed in the 1980s. As alternatives to battery cages, the EU Council Directive allowed non-cage systems and furnished cages. Furnished cages therefore represent a feasible alternative to battery cages in the EU after 2012.

For laying hens, Austria banned battery cages in 2009 and furnished cages in 2020. Luxembourg has also banned the use of furnished cages. Germany introduced a "family cage", which has more space than the furnished cages used in other countries; however, consumers in Germany had reportedly been rejecting these eggs by 2011. Caged farming was eventually banned in Germany in 2015, with a transition period to 2025. Outside the EU, Switzerland has already banned both the battery and furnished cage systems. For meat rabbits, Austria has banned the use of cages; Belgium officially prohibits battery cages since 1 January 2020 and will also prohibit enriched cages from 31 January 2024. However, the alternative system of "park cages", in which groups of at least 20 animals are given 800 cm² (120 sq in) per animal (12.5 rabbits per m²) has also faced heavy criticism from animal welfarists, especially when in early 2020 the Flemish Centre for Agro and Fishery Marketing (VLAM) launched a campaign to consume more rabbit meat.

All major UK supermarkets have promised to stop selling eggs from furnished cages by 2025. In April 2010, the Norwegian grocery chain Rema 1000 decided to stop selling eggs from both battery and furnished cage hens by the year 2012. Several more industry groups have decided to voluntarily phase out furnished cages as well, such as NorgesGruppen by 2019 and Nortura by 2024, while in April 2017 the Green Party proposed to ban furnished cages throughout the country by 2025.

EU specifications

Under Directive 1999/74/EC, furnished cages must provide at least the following:

1. laying hens must have:

(a) at least 750 cm² [120 sq in] of cage area per hen, 600 cm² [90 sq in] of which shall be usable; the height of the cage other than that above the usable area shall be at least 20 cm [8"] at every point and no cage shall have a total area that is less than 2000 cm² [400 sq in];

(b) a nest;

(c) litter such that pecking and scratching are possible;

(d) appropriate perches allowing at least 15 cm [6"] per hen;

2. a feed trough which may be used without restriction must be provided. Its length must be at least 12 cm [5"] multiplied by the number of hens in the cage;
3. each cage must have a drinking system appropriate to the size of the group; where nipple drinkers are provided, at least two nipple drinkers or two cups must be within the reach of each hen;
4. to facilitate inspection, installation and depopulation of hens there must be a minimum aisle width of 90 cm [36"] between tiers of cages and a space of at least 35 cm [14"] must be allowed between the floor of the building and the bottom tier of cages;

5. cages must be fitted with suitable claw-shortening devices.

Additionally,

(a) if systems of rearing are used where the laying hens can move freely between different levels,

(i) there shall be no more than four levels;

(ii) the headroom between the levels must be at least 45 cm [18"];

(iii) the drinking and feeding facilities must be distributed in such a way as to provide equal access for all hens;

(iv) the levels must be so arranged as to prevent droppings falling on the levels below.

As the minimum total area of 2,000 cm² (310 sq in) per cage allows 2.7 times the minimum of 750 cm² (116 sq in) cage area per hen, this means that a maximum of two laying hens is acceptable in the smallest of cages.