Spain advances in the welfare of laying hens

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FarmAnimals

Spain advances in the welfare of laying hens

2 June 2020
Animal Equality
News
The transition to cage-free chickens is progressing in Spain: egg production with cage-free birds has increased from 7% to 23% in the last three years.

The number of laying birds in cages has decreased by 2.7 million during the last year, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. As a consequence, alternative farming systems are increasing: soil, free-range and ecological.

Although the vast majority of national production still comes from hens crammed into spaces similar to one folio per bird (77%), animal rights defenders celebrate this decline and call it "another step forward." Despite the trend, Spain is, along with Poland, the European country with the most animals locked up, with the EU average at 53%.