Document type Answer to question 10089 published in the Journal officiel de la République française
Authors: question: Mrs Sandra Regol (Ecologist - NUPES - Bas-Rhin). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.
Question: Sandra Regol questions the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty on cage farming as proposed by the Association Justice Animaux Savoie. Currently, 88% of the French public want to ban this type of production within 5 years. Following a European citizens' initiative and as part of the European Green Deal, the European Commission made the commitment to present a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out and eventually ban the use of cage systems for pigs, sows, calves, laying hens, chickens, rabbits, ducks, quail and geese. This proposal represents a shift in attitudes, and follows on from existing legislation in several EU Member States to restrict or ban the use of certain types of cage. France must be the driving force behind this revision, and bring forward an ambitious text to end cage farming, while guaranteeing a transition from the current model. She therefore asks what concrete measures the Ministry intends to take at French and European level to ban cage farming.
Answer: In March 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty began a preliminary consultation as part of the European Commission's announced review of animal welfare and protection legislation. The aim was to identify common ground among stakeholders and to promote the specific characteristics of the French experience to European actors. With regard to animal transport, a number of actions aimed at improving animal protection during transport were selected. The harmonization of transport control procedures between Member States, the need to provide a better supporting framework for the role of coordinator in the case of long-distance journeys, and the creation of an observatory for animal transport at European level have all been brought to the attention of the European Commission. With regard to farming conditions, France advocates better management of pain, either by reducing it, limiting its use or banning practices that generate pain when less painful and economically viable alternatives exist. France is also calling for a ban on the systematic culling of male chicks in the egg sector, the compulsory appointment of animal welfare advisors on farms, and the introduction of a continued professional development system for farmers. With regard to the introduction of European animal welfare labelling, France wishes to promote improved provision of consumer information, through the voluntary labelling of animal products placed on the European market. In addition, the government's position during the planned negotiations at European level is underpinned by a number of principles. In particular, France has called on the European Commission not to create a situation in which European livestock farming distorts competition or loses competitiveness. This means working to strengthen the degree of harmonization of the European Union (EU) internal market; it also means improving the application of European standards by third countries (from outside the EU) for the animal products they export to the EU, following a principle of reciprocity. The French authorities have therefore proposed to the European Commission that "mirror" measures should be properly integrated into the texts that form the future legislative package. France also takes the view that changes should be introduced in the light of new scientific knowledge, the existence of alternative production methods and prior impact studies. The government will pay close attention to the costs of transition, which should be shared by all participants in the food supply chain, down to the consumer. Last, France believes that systems cannot be transformed immediately, and that transition must be conceived as a long-term process. It is essential to take into account the economic capacity of the industry to adapt over time to the new requirements, and to set deadlines for the entry into force of legislation to give professionals visibility, particularly with regard to the amortization period for investments in livestock buildings. To this end, the government is supporting a number of research projects, some of which are designed to bring an end to the use of cages, for example the Institut Technique de l'Aviculture's project to develop group housing for fattening rabbits, which will be supplemented by the forthcoming €500,000 operational program to support the rabbit farming industry; or the CAREFUL project, which is developing a cage-free alternative for fattening palmipeds. Currently, poultry farms are working constantly to adapt, and fewer than 33% of laying hens are still kept in cages in France, compared with 58% in Europe in 2021. In this sector, France is ahead of its European partners.
