Thank you for contacting me about animal welfare.
The Government is firmly committed to the UK’s strong track record on animal welfare and to delivering continued improvements, both in this Parliament and beyond. I understand that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) does not consider that the time is right to consult on cage reforms, considering the challenges facing the laying hen and pig sectors.
However, I am aware that the market is already moving away from using cages for laying hen production. The proportion of eggs that come from caged hens has steadily decreased, from 47% of total throughput in Q4 2017, to 21% in Q1 2023.
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