Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) has welcomed comments by EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, confirming that proposals to ban cages for laying hens and pigs and improve broiler chicken welfare will be delivered as promised, despite pig welfare proposals not being included in the European Commission’s 2027 Work Programme published today (4 November 2026).

The EU Livestock Strategy, published by the EU Commission earlier this year, included a commitment to provide legislation to ban cages for mother pigs in the first half of 2027. CIWF described it as a missed opportunity that the legislation is not mentioned in the Commission’s work plans for the year ahead. However, the Commissioner for Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, confirmed that they are still being prepared.

The Livestock Strategy has also promised to deliver the long-awaited legislative proposals to improve welfare standards for laying hens and broiler chickens by the end of 2026. Whilst these proposals were not expected in the 2027 Work Programme, their delivery this year will be an important opportunity for the Commission to show it intends to abide by its promise to End the Cage Age.

Commissioner Várhelyi confirmed that both sets of proposals in the Livestock Strategy were on track whilst speaking at Compassion in World Farming’s 2026 Farm Animal Welfare Awards, today.

Commissioner Várhelyi said:

Citizens have high expectations when it comes to animal welfare.

Animal welfare and economic competitiveness do not have to be competing objectives, with the right approach they can go hand-in-hand.

By the end of this year, I intend to propose a targeted revision of animal welfare rules for laying hens and broilers, which will focus on phasing-out cages, practical on-farm welfare indicators, and equivalent requirements for imports.

And by the second quarter of next year, 2027, we're planning a similar proposal to address pig welfare, including the transition from crates to pen systems for sows.

The awards recognise companies driving real improvements in farm animal welfare and leading the transition towards a more sustainable, nature-friendly food system. Since the Awards began in 2007, the policies and commitments of winning companies are set to benefit more than 1.6 billion animals every year.

Many of these businesses have been leading the way towards cage-free farming in Europe for years and are calling on the EU to deliver its promised ban on cages in animal farming to ensure a level playing field and fair market competition.

This year, Rujamar in Spain, Netto Poland, Fumagalli in Italy, and Picard in France were amongst the companies recognised for their cage-free commitments.

The End the Cage Age legislation for hens and pigs is in response to the successful End the Cage Age (EtCA) European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) – signed by over 1.4 million EU citizens and supported by 170 NGOs led by Compassion in World Farming. The Commission made a clear commitment in 2021 to respond to the ECI by introducing legislative proposals for an EU ban on caged farming by 2023 but failed to bring forward the legislation on time.

In March 2024, the Citizens’ Committee of the EtCA ECI, supported by Compassion in World Farming, launched the landmark EtCA legal action against the Commission – the first case to examine the need to follow through on the procedure laid out in the ECI once a commitment has been made to bring forward legislation.

Debbie Tripley, Global Director of Campaigns and Policy Advocacy at Compassion in World Farming, said:

Proposals to end the cage age are coming – farmers know it, businesses know it, we know it – so why not include them in the work plans for the year to come?

The Commission has missed an opportunity to provide transparency and clarity to the millions of European citizens who no longer want to see farmed animals behind cages. It would have provided certainty for the 1.4m citizens that there will be no more backsliding and it is full steam ahead with these proposals.

We also want to see the Commission standing by the commitment it made five years ago and publish a timeline to end the suffering of all species that continue to be confined in cages.

An overwhelming 89% of EU citizens – around 400 million people – believe animals should not be farmed in individual cages. Yet, across Europe, around 300 million pigs, hens, rabbits, ducks, quail, and geese still spend most of their lives in cages every year. Animals kept in cages are often confined in barren environments, either overcrowded or completely lacking social contact, unable to turn around or express even the most basic behaviours.

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For more information or to arrange interviews, please email media.team@ciwf.org or call +44 (0)1483 521 615

Notes to Editors

In 2023, the Commission’s own Eurobarometer survey revealed that an overwhelming nine out of ten (89%) EU citizens – around 400 million people – believe animals should not be farmed in individual cages.
Compassion in World Farming was founded in 1967 by a British dairy farmer who became horrified at the development of intensive factory farming. Today Compassion is the leading farm animal welfare organisation dedicated to ending factory farming and achieving humane and sustainable food production. With headquarters in the UK, we have offices across Europe, in the US, China, and South Africa.

Commissioner reassures campaigners cage-free proposals are on track