EU urged to hold firm on hens

LOTHIANS-BASED Labour MEP David Martin is urging the European Union to hold firm on the 2012 ban on the use of battery cages for egg production, despite signs that some countries will miss the deadline.

Mr Martin has written to the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Ciolos, saying it had been brought to his attention by egg producers in Scotland that EU countries such as Spain, Italy and Poland had asked for an extension.

"This would be totally unacceptable," said Mr Martin, who is vice-president of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Animal Welfare.

"The 1999 EU laying hens directive has already given these countries 12 years to ban cruel battery cages. There should be no further delay."

He said around 18 million hens were kept in battery cages each year in the UK.