The Australian Federal Government and the governments of all individual states and territories have committed to a phasing out of caged eggs. Following a meeting of agriculture ministers in Perth on Thursday, a new set of guidelines for poultry and animal welfare standards was approved by ministers, paving the way for the change.
The states and territories have now agreed to set their own time frames for the phasing out of caged eggs, with many committing to complete the task by the year 2036. The decision to phase out caged eggs is in response to animal welfare concerns and industry and consumer pressure.
The Federal Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt, announced the new standards would still permit the use of cages, however, egg producers must supply the chickens more room and enrichment.
The market is moving away from the type of poultry and egg farming cages that can commonly be seen in television shows, and the government is following suit by implementing these new standards which permit the continued use of such cages, albeit in a different form.
In response to Supermarkets giants Coles and Woolworths announcing plans to stop selling caged eggs by 2025, Egg Farmers of Australia chief executive Melinda Hashimoto said that there has been a mixed reaction from the industry, with many cage farmers uncertain of the future due to the news.
This comes after Mr Watt stated that only 30 percent of eggs in supermarkets were produced using conventional cages.
“At the meeting, the ministers essentially concluded that they should return the standards to the states to review the timeline for phasing out eggs. Furthermore, they noted that Australia must have access to cage, barn, and free-range eggs, in order to fulfill the national demand, and ensure that both consumers and producers are duly protected,” she said.
