Egg farmers fear cash loss after shelling out

A THIRD of eggs produced in Europe will not meet improved welfare standards for laying hens, hitting UK farmers who have spent millions to comply with the new legislation, MPs have warned.

British farmers will have spent £400 million improving conditions for egg-laying hens which will be wasted if eggs are imported from other EU countries which do not comply with the rules, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said.

UK producers will also be at a competitive disadvantage if cheaper, illegal egg products are sold in the UK once the regulations come into force in January, the MPs said.

The new directive rules out the use of conventional battery cages for all laying hens in the EU, with a minimum standard of “enriched” cages which give the birds more space, nesting and perching areas, and features which allow natural behaviour.

But the MPs warned the European Commission was sleepwalking into a potential commercial disaster, as it was being complacent over enforcement of the regulations.

The UK industry estimates that while it is working to comply with the rules, more than 100 million hens will still be in battery cages in other EU countries when the Welfare of Laying Hens Directive comes into force.

Around half of hens in the UK are in cages and 45 per cent are in free range systems. Around 80 per cent of the 31 million eggs consumed in the UK each day are produced here, with the rest imported from other EU countries and a small amount exported, mainly to Ireland.

The committee’s chairwoman Anne McIntosh said: “The European Commission has just not woken up to the impact that non-compliance with this legislation will have on egg producers in the UK and across Europe.

“UK egg producers have spent around £400m to improve conditions for laying hens.

“That money will be wasted.”