Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ensure the UK maintains the requirements of Council Directive 1999/74/EC on battery hens.

George Eustice

The EU-wide ban on keeping hens in ‘battery’ (conventional) cages in 2012 represented a significant welfare advance across the EU was supported by the UK and has been implemented in full. The Government has a manifesto commitment to protect farm animal welfare and to push for high animal welfare standards to be incorporated into farming policy.