Allotments 4 All
General => The Shed => Topic started by: OllieC on February 18, 2010, 11:46:58
-
Poland wants to postpone the ban on battery caged rearing of chickens. This link gives a quick way to urge Jim Fitzpatrick MP, the Defra Minister responsible for animal welfare, to oppose the postponement & support the ban due to start in 2012.
http://www.chickenout.tv/polandban
-
I've signed up for that Ollie!
-
Me too :)
-
And me.
-
Hi Ollie
Problem with this is that although the "ban" on cages will be taking effect here in England in 2012 or thereabouts - the chickens will be no better off than before.
They will be put in larger cages about 3 x the previous size - but and it is a major but they will have less space as they will put in more chickens.
So although Poland wants to postpone the battery cage ban - there will be as bad a situation for chickens here in England as there will be in Poland and it will be the case for the next however many years!
Old Bird
???
-
done, hope it makes a difference :-\
-
I didn't know that, OB, have you got a link to anything about it? I still think this is still a small step in the right direction though!
-
I am not convinced that putting several hens in a larger space is any better than putting one hen in a smaller one. They will peck each other so end up loosing their beaks. This is going to put the price of eggs up without helping the chickens.
-
Ideally I would like to see all caged birds banned.
It is a filthy disgusting way to carry on and I would rather pay more for eggs. :(
-
Done. But if it causs the price of eggs to rise substantially, I will not be able to afford them.
-
Well it is not good for you to eat too many.
Would rather not eat them at all if they were mega expensive........we would survive :)
-
Done. But if it causs the price of eggs to rise substantially, I will not be able to afford them.
you'll have to cut down on the chocklit!!
-
Old Bird is right. They are called enriched cages which basically means they're a bit bigger. Hens will get a bit more space, but it is still less than an A4 sheet of paper!
After a bit of digging around I found these articles. Wikipedia talks about EU legislation and Compassion in World Farming talks about the concerns about caged birds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_cage
http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/poultry/egg_laying_hens/welfare_issues.aspx
I would still support the ban as a bit more space is better than nothing, but it doesn't go far enough. If you follow Ollie's link you can send an email from a template to the DEFRA Minister Jim Fitzpatrick. 168,623 sent so far... I wouldn't like to have his Inbox! You can modify the email to say what you want.
Better still, keep your own chickens!
-
Well it is not good for you to eat too many.
The ones laid by Kraft range chocolit hens - yes. :(
The ones laid by regular free range/ battery hens - no, not according to current research.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7882850.stm :)
-
OK eat as many as you like then ;D ;D ;D
-
sent
-
As much as I hate the system of keeping battery hens; I do wonder at why the UK keeps complaining about other countries actions... I wish we'd get ourselves sorted out first and "lead by example" rather than "do as we say rather than as we do"
As someone said, if those of us who can afford free range eggs bought them, then the demand would increase the supply... I am not working now, and back at college as a "extra mature" student, but even on student "wages" I insist on buying free range eggs and chicken... I'll buy cheap for some things, but not for them...
(I, many years ago, used to work in agricuture, the methods of keeping chickens appalled me at the time)
mat
-
Wholeheartedly agree about buying free range. To be honest I'd rather go without than live with my conscience after eating those poor battery creatures. Apart from the fact the way they are reared probably means their nutritional value is dubious too.
As to the UK getting involved in other people's business I also agree but on this occasion I think the UK is acting as a member state of the EU - so appropriately. Unlike when we randomly invade other people's countries. Yes things here are certainly not rosy.
-
We pay £1 for 6 free range eggs. this does us for 2 meals either scrambled or poached with acouple of slices of bread each that to me is a cheap lunch.
-
If each of us eat 1 egg per day - in one form or another (boiled, fried, in cakes, pastries, custard, and so on) and there are 60,000,000+ people in the UK, this means we need 420,000,000 eggs per week.
Where on earth do they all come from? I never see hundreds or thousands of chickens outside in the fields!
-
If you assume an average of 1 egg per bird per day (batteries producing 1.5, hippies producing 0.5) then that's 60,000000 birds. If you take Britain to be 1000km long and 300km wide, then it's 3*1011 m2 so that's 1 chicken every 5000m2 .
If I walk into town from my house, and say the street is an average of 5m wide and it's 1000m into town, on a return journey I "see" 5000m2 of ground so I should expect to see 1 chicken. In fact I will see 3 if I look out the back window.
::)
-
Done it in a way we are lucky our plot took on 18 ex battery hens three of us look after them share the eggs at 50p 1/2 doz they are in a large enclosure made from herris fencing and one of our old sheds our egg consumption 6 eggs will last us for 3 meals our eggs are extra large & large although it is hard to go up to feed them when the locks are frozen the end result is great they are the funniest of things + when you clean them you have brill stuff for your compost for 2 years up the road
maybe some of us would be able to keep chicks to opt out of the system wouldn't solve all the probs but a bit at a time maybe they taste so much better :)
-
Nice thought 1/2 manic ;D but we have foxes on our site and I don't think the neighbours would be very pleased if we had them in the garden.
-
We also have foxes visit our site and badgers too - we have two flocks of chickens and have never had any problems with the foxes or badgers.
I did lose some to a human with bolt cutters - but never the animals!
Old Bird
::)
-
As much as I hate the system of keeping battery hens; I do wonder at why the UK keeps complaining about other countries actions... I wish we'd get ourselves sorted out first and "lead by example" rather than "do as we say rather than as we do"
We do have better welfare standards (in general) in this country than some other EU countries, which means it is cheaper to import from countries that have lower standards, so our farmers, by being better lose out.
What gets me, when you see people on the telly talking about the better methods, they often say, this will only add 1p or 2p per egg, but when you so shopping that is not the case.
Are we being charged an extra premium?
-
Done. ;D ;D ;D
-
Email just received :-
Success for hens: Poland's proposal rejected
Great news!
Yesterday the EU Council of Agriculture Ministers rejected Poland's attempt to delay the Europe-wide ban on barren battery cages. As a result, the ban is still due to come into force as planned in 2012.
Thank you to the 10,214 dedicated supporters who lobbied the UK government by sending emails, post cards and letters - once again, you have shown that we can get things done for farm animals when speaking with a united voice. This latest campaign also reiterates the need to be vigilant about the threats that remain, even when victories such as the forthcoming battery cage ban have been gained. Whatever the challenge, Chicken Out! and Compassion in World Farming will continue to take decisive action until the battery cage ban is fully implemented across Europe.
Thank you for your support; we share this victory with you.
Rosie, Siān, Hayley and Caroline
On behalf of
The Chicken Out! Team
Compassion in World Farming
Call us on 01483 521 953
-
They are all in warehouses.
I don't see cows in the fields of Cornwall any more.