07/01/21 Historical decision: From 2027, there will be no more farming of animals in cages!
Associations celebrate huge success of the civic initiative "End The Cage Age"
- AFC: A big step in the fight to completely stop the exploitation and killing of animals
170 European animal rights associations, including Animal Friends Croatia and organization Victorious, are celebrating a historic victory as of yesterday! The European Commission has committed to phasing out animal cages on farms across the EU by 2027. "A representative of our association participated in the meeting of Eurogroup for Animals, of which we are members, and followed with them the live broadcast of the European Commission press conference, which responded positively to the European Parliament's proposal to ban cage farming. We all cried together with emotion. This is a huge victory for animals and a big step in our fight to completely stop the exploitation and killing of animals, ” said AFC.
This decision of the European Commission is the result of the efforts of the European citizens' initiative "End the Cage Age" launched in September 2018 by the organization Compassion In World Farming, and the Victorious Association collected signatures of Croatian citizens to ban animals in cages. With 1.4 million signatures collected in a year, this has become the first successful civic animal welfare initiative in the European Union. The European Commission's move was welcomed by a number of politicians, including MEPs and longtime animal rights advocate Francisco Guerreiro and Tilly Metz.
The European Commission has announced its intention to "present a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out and finally ban the use of cages for all animal species and categories listed in the initiative", which the European Parliament and the EU Council will have to adopt to become law. It also pledged to consider "introducing rules or standards for imported products equivalent to the EU" for non-EU countries.
Reineke Hameleers, Executive Director of Eurogroup for Animals, expressed delight at the incredible results of the European Citizens' Initiative: “The European Commission's commitment to ban cages across Europe will have a huge impact on millions of animals. We want to thank all the 1.4 million EU citizens and the hundreds of organizations that have fought for this historic moment. ” Olga Kikou, director of Compassion in World Farming, added that she would continue to be vigilant to ensure that the European institutions deliver on their promises: “Industrial animal agriculture is the biggest cause of cruelty to animals on the planet. The ban of cages is a huge step towards the end of industrial farming. ”
"We thank everyone who contributed to this great success with their signatures and information sharing. The gradual abolition of cage farming will make a difference for more than 300 million chickens, pigs, calves, rabbits, ducks, geese and other animals that suffer immensely, "said the proud activists of the Osijek Association Pobjeda.
Animal Friends states that in the European Union, among other things, more than 90% of rabbits are caged their whole life, while data from 2019 confirm that half of the hens used for egg production are kept in cages. "It is horrible that in industrial farming, animals are being kept their whole short lives in cramped cages in which they cannot even turn around, and then brutally end up in a slaughterhouse. We call on everyone to contribute to preventing their suffering by switching to a plant-based diet, ”said the Animal Friends Croatia.