There's been a bit of squabbling between states: speaking to BBC1, David Cameron made the querulous accusation that the rest of Europe is undercutting British farmers by continuing to favour cheap cruelty over expensive renovations, which drive up prices. Then it turned out that up to 500,000 hens in the UK are still kept in battery cages, and that Agriculture Minister Jim Paice doesn't see fit to do much about it.
(Jim Paice)
Interviewed on Farming Today, he said that since the offending farmers will be unable to sell their produce as 'shell' eggs (there is no formal system to prevent them selling eggs to manufacturers who will use them in other products - 'liquid' eggs) they will be unable to turn a good profit, and therefore will have to fall in line. He said he sees no reason to take immediate legal action to penalise these farmers, despite David Cameron's threats that Britain would take other EU countries to court if they 'don't put in place the changes they've signed up to.'
Paice has also spoken of a voluntary agreement made by certain manufacturers not to buy battery eggs, a choice which can be supported at the consumer level. Mr Paice clearly adheres to the popular fallacy that the market can look after our morals. This is demonstrably shaky thinking, and Britain is a very good example of the way it doesn't work. The British, bless us, are quite nice about animals; whereas in Mediterranean Europe no one gives a shit, the British hate the idea of battery farming, and 1% of us even believe that it is a legal requirement that hens listen to 4 hours of classical music each day to chill them out, presumably having confused chickens with Inspector Morse. But if the British heart is soft, the British wallet is stingy, and people will gravitate towards cheaper products without even thinking about the dirty backstory behind cheaper bacon or eggs. In general, we need laws to do the right thing for us, and these laws should be stringently applied. Jim Paice may be right about renegade farmers being forced into compliance by financial concerns, but it would be neater and quicker and more convincing if he would prosecute people who are breaking the law.
One last thing:
It seems incredibly difficult to implement the smallest change. The truth is that the new regulations achieve relatively little, even when they are in place. The new type of crate will give hens perching and scratching places, but will still provide less usable space per hen than an A4 sheet of paper. Battery farming is not dead; it is 'enriched'. If you are enriched, buy only RSPCA-approved, free-range eggs. If you are not very rich, I don't know, have some cake. Unless it has battery liquid egg in it.
Don't trust him, chicken. He's not your friend.
One last thing:
It seems incredibly difficult to implement the smallest change. The truth is that the new regulations achieve relatively little, even when they are in place. The new type of crate will give hens perching and scratching places, but will still provide less usable space per hen than an A4 sheet of paper. Battery farming is not dead; it is 'enriched'. If you are enriched, buy only RSPCA-approved, free-range eggs. If you are not very rich, I don't know, have some cake. Unless it has battery liquid egg in it.
