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Poules pondeuses en cage : le Conseil d’Etat somme le gouvernement de faire appliquer la loi

By May 27, 2021June 9th, 2021No Comments

Document type : Article published in Le Monde

Author: Mathilde Gérard

Preview: Two and a half years after the promulgation of the EGalim Act, the executive has not yet issued a decree to apply the moratorium on caged laying hen houses: a delay that exceeds a "reasonable time", according to the Council of State.

The Council of State's decision was long awaited: two and a half years after the promulgation of the Agriculture and Food Act (EGalim) in 2018, the government had still not published the decree implementing the article providing for a moratorium on caged laying hen buildings. On Thursday 27 May, the Council of State enjoined the executive to issue a decree within six months, on pain of being fined 200 euros per day of delay. At the hearing on 7 May, the public rapporteur argued that, contrary to the interpretation provided by the government to justify the absence of a decree, a reference to the regulation alone would not be sufficient.

The moratorium voted during the debates on the EGalim Act provides for a ban on the construction or redevelopment of any caged building for laying hens. It should thus facilitate the transition to alternative farming methods, without penalising farmers who are already established. During the debates in Parliament, the notion of "refurbished building" had been strongly debated, with the legislators themselves asking for a decree to clarify the distinction between refurbishments involving major investments and emergency work.

In its conclusions, the Conseil d'Etat notes that "in view of the uncertainty over the scope of the definition of a refurbished building, (...) the legislative provisions are not sufficiently precise to allow their entry into force in the absence of a decree". The Council also notes that "more than two and a half years have passed since the entry into force of the Act of 30 October 2018 supporting balanced trading relationships in the agricultural sector (...). The delay in the adoption of the regulatory provisions thus exceeds the reasonable period of time that is allowed to the authorities".

Articles published on the same subject :

- in Le Figaro on 27 May 2021: Le Conseil d’Etat épingle le gouvernement sur les poules en cages

- on the CIWF France website on 27 May 2021 Poules pondeuses en cage : Victoire de CIWF qui salue l’arrêt du Conseil d’Etat!

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