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Published 25/11/2020
Today, 13 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) sent a video message to the European Commission urging it to end the use of cages in farming.
MEPs deplore that over 300 million farmed animals in Europe live imprisoned in cages. Laying hens are kept in space about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, and almost all sows spend half of every year inside crates in which they cannot even turn around.
Caged farming is the biggest animal welfare issue of our times due to the numbers of caged animals and the amount of suffering they go through on a daily basis.
1.4 million Europeans against cages
In October 2020, the European Commission registered a successful European Citizens’ Initiative calling for an end to the use of cages in EU farming.
The ‘End the Cage Age’ Initiative was signed by 1.4 million people across Europe and is only the sixth successful Initiative since the EU launched this democracy tool eight years ago. It is the very first successful Initiative for farmed animals.
MEPs unite against cages
MEPs sent this video message to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans (European Green Deal) and Commissioners Stella Kyriakides (Health and Food Safety), Věra Jourová (Values and Transparency) and Janusz Wojciechowski (Agriculture) .
MEPs from across the political spectrum and from many different EU countries took part in the action:
- MEP Eleonora Evi (Italy, NA)
- MEP Anja Hazekamp (The Netherlands, GUE/NGL)
- MEP Tilly Metz (Luxembourg, Greens/EFA)
- MEP Sylwia Spurek (Poland, Greens/EFA)
- MEP Alexis Georgoulis (Greece, GUE/NGL)
- MEP Francisco Guerreiro (Portugal, Greens/EFA)
- MEP Michal Wiezik (Slovakia, EPP)
- MEP Martin Hojsík (Slovakia, Renew Europe)
- MEP Caroline Roose (France, Greens/EFA)
- MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen (Finland, EPP)
- MEP Jytte Guteland (Sweden, S&D)
- MEP Thomas Waitz (Austria, Greens/EFA)
- MEP Manuela Ripa (Germany, Greens/EFA)
Last month, 86 Members of the European Parliament MEPs wrote to the European Commission in support of the European Citizens’ Initiative calling for an end to the use of cages in EU farming. The letter was co-ordinated by the cage-free farming working group of MEPs.
