Farming minister Jim Paice has updated parliament on the progress made towards ensuring that Britain is compliant with the battery cage ban, which came into force on 1st January. Mr Paice revealed that Defra had missed its second, self-set target to achieve full compliance by 1st February.

The ban, which prohibits the use of ‘unenriched’ battery cages, has been 12 years in planning. Mr paice said the UK would be fully compliant with the new EU regulations from Monday (13th February). Although member states had in excess of a decade to prepare for the ban, over half (15 states) were not compliant by New Year.

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The farming minister assured that “robust enforcement action,” including the threat of criminal convictions for producers who continue to flout the ban, is being pursued by UK authorities.

When it was revealed that some 30 UK producers still had half a million chickens housed in illegal cages at the beginning of the year, the British Egg Industry Council said it was “appalled and disgusted.” BEIC chair Andrew Parker said, “We urge the enforcement authorities to take immediate action against any non-compliant producer.”

The UK’s compliant producers spent an estimated £400 million in the run up to 2012 to prepare for the switch to enriched cages.

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