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Why is There Sense in Being Humane Customers?

четвъртък, 04 октомври 2007

”They need space too”

Choose Eggs from Hens Raised Free.

Apart from the conventional raising of poultry birds in cages there are alternatetive systems of raising laying hens existing – raising in barns or free ranged raising.
70% of the laying hens in Bulgaria are still kept in cages. In a cage the birds are one on top of the other, maim themselves, brake their bones and wings. These cages are made of wire netting, including the floor, which is sloped. The health problems from keeping the birds include stereotype behaviour, bad plumage coverage and bone weakness, which is caused by the lack of any movement. Brakeage of bones is a common effect. Up to 30% of the birds brake their bones before their time to be culled. Many of them have sores on their feet and long nails, which get stuck and rip off on the bottom of the cage. Another problem is clipping of the beak to prevent the horrible pecking of plumage, when the birds are held in tight spaces.

Caged raising has been a long time ago defined by EU as inhumane. European convention for protection of farm animals says:
”freedom of movement for each animal, keeping in mind its ethology, and in respect to the established experience and scientific knowledge, to not be limited in such a way as to cause unnecessary suffering and harm”… The Clauses of the Convention encourage the refusal of the conventional cage and promote the development of alternative systems for raising laying hens.

As a member of the EU Bulgaria approved of the overall European legislations, including the Directive 1999/74/EU from 19.07.1999 which defines minimal standards for the protection of laying hens. The directive foresees the withdrawal of the conventional cages in all EU Member Countries by 01.01.2012.

Since 01.01.2003 all new producers have to invest into new enriched cages. In the barn systems, the hens are fenced in but have access to a perch or barn flooring. The European Commission for development of consumption, the marking and opinion on the eggs states that “the hens have to have enough space to exercise their wings, and to move without danger of being attacked from other birds. Perch, material to which they can dig and to take a bath and a box to nest in and lay eggs is necessary.” Free ranged is the other alternative system. It provides perches and nest boxes as well as daily access to outdoor space.
The Bulgarian Poultry Union reports that the quantity of eggs from hens barn raised or outdoors is leveled on 30% from the overall produce of eggs, in 2006.

To keep their business the rest of the 70% producers have to take away the cages and to raise their birds by the new regulations. According to the annual report from the Poultry Union the consumption of eggs had increased by 16% in 2006. An even bigger increase is awaited in future.

The market demand would provoke not only a differentiation of the eggs provided at the stores, but also would lead to higher social concern about animals and the way people could change the situations by being humane customers.

Barned and free ranged raising are a practice which is not understood by the public yet. Also not advertised. This leads to bad informed customer. Often the label misleads as well. Regulation № 31 from 06.07.2001 states that the label should contain information on the way the laying hen was raised. Th adequate labels are “eggs from hens – raised freely and outdoors”, “semi intensive”, “barn raised with deep bedding” or “cages raising”.

But most producers do not comply with the regulation, instead some of them put inscriptions like “happy hens”, “sunny hens” and alike. This is a misleading commercial.

The other requirement for egg labeling is the barcode, which carries information information about the raising system as well.

On eggs from class A follows to be printed a code, containing a distinctive number of the producer and the way of raising the layig hens.

Intimate with Nature

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