Our wonderful Patron and well-known TV actor, Dame Joanna Lumley, has launched a petition today (24 January), calling on the UK Government to ban the use of cages for all farmed animals, including hens, mother pigs and calves.

In the UK, around 8 million laying hens spend most of their lives imprisoned in so-called ‘enriched’ cages where they have around the space of a sheet of A4 paper each. In addition, 200,000 mother pigs are confined in narrow crates when nursing their piglets. Calves, quail and game birds also suffer in severe confinement.

It's time to End the Cage Age!

On launching the petition, Dame Joanna Lumley, said: “Around 8 million UK laying hens spend most of their lives suffering behind bars. Imprisoned in ‘enriched’ cages, these hens have little more space than a sheet of A4 paper each. They can't forage in the dirt, dustbathe, see the light of day, or even fully stretch their wings.

"The UK claims to have some of the highest farmed animal welfare standards. But when it comes to securing a ban on cages for farmed animals we are falling behind much of Europe.

"It is outrageous that in the 21 century we are still keeping sentient animals in squalid, cramped, cruel cages – the UK should be ashamed. Cages are not the future. It’s time for the new Government to take action and do the right thing. It’s time to End the Cage Age!”

UK lagging behind

Significant progress has and continues to be made to End the Cage Age in many other countries across Europe. Luxembourg and Austria are 100% cage-free for laying hens, France banned the installation of new cage systems for laying hens in 2018. Germany will ban cages for hens from 2026 and Czech Republic from 2027. The European Commission will propose legislation by 2026 that will lead to a ban on cages for all farmed animals and will also look to prohibit the import of food from caged systems. This would leave the UK lagging even further behind.

Call for a consultation

In June 2022, the then-Government, stated that a consultation to phase out cages for laying hens was “almost ready to go” and that a consultation on farrowing crates was “being worked on”. However, more than two years on, neither consultation have seen the light of day. The Scottish Government meanwhile pressed ahead with a consultation in June 2024 for a ban on cages for laying hens, the results of which will be published in due course.

British consumers support a ban

Our recent poll found that 75% of the British public believe the use of cages in farming is cruel. The poll also revealed that despite the current cost of living crisis more than two-thirds of the British public are willing to pay more for eggs produced from hens that are not kept in cages and 67% of consumers would be happy to pay the estimated 6 pence more on their weekly shop for all UK hens to be cage free and live a better life.

Anthony Field, Head of our UK Office, commented: “We are extremely grateful to Dame Joanna for spearheading this important petition, which we hope will deliver the much-needed push for legislative change to finally End the Cage Age in the UK.

“The Government cannot keep kicking this can down the road whilst watching our European neighbours surge ahead. They must move swiftly to finally stamp out this cruelty. Unless the UK Government acts now, animal welfare standards here will fall significantly behind those of the EU.”

The petition calls on the UK Government to secure a ban on all cages as soon as possible across the UK and introduce a ban on the use of:

cages for laying hens
farrowing crates for sows
individual calf pens
cages for other birds, including partridges, pheasants and quail

If the petition gains 100,000 signatures it will be considered for a debate where the Government must set out how it will address phasing out cages for all farmed animals in the UK.

Please ask the Government to End the Cage Age for all farmed animals and help us reach the 100,000 signatures needed.

Joanna Lumley joins fight to End the Cage Age