The global campaign to phase out battery cages for laying hens has achieved major corporate and regulatory commitments, representing one of the largest welfare policy shifts in food system history.
The cage-free campaign represents perhaps the most successful large-scale farmed animal welfare intervention in history. Through a combination of corporate engagement, consumer campaigns and ballot initiatives, it has shifted industry practice for hundreds of millions of animals. The achievement is genuine but incomplete — cage-free systems have their own welfare challenges, and enriched cage-free systems with adequate perches, nest boxes and litter achieve the best welfare outcomes. The focus on delivering on existing commitments and ensuring cage-free systems actually implement welfare best practice is now critical.