– no specific laws in the Criminal Code of Canada or the B.C legislation regarding poultry welfare particularly the housing of hens or the requirement of litter for dust-bathing
– The SPCA certified food labeling requires laying hens to be free from cages and to allow hens to express their natural behavior, which means hens are allowed to perform dust-bathing
– Asia and South America have no legislations to regulate the welfare of hens
– a directive (1999/74/EC) bans battery cages in Europe; directives are not operative in the member countries, but serves to direct each country to pass national legislation to put the directives into effect
– Switzerland, not a member of the EU, already has a ban on traditional battery cages
– By 2012, all traditional battery cages in the European Union (EU) are replaced with enriched cages or alternative housing systems, such as free range, aviary, or barn systems (Van Horne and Achterbosch, Farm Animal Welfare Council).
Enriched cages requirements:
– 750 cm2 of cage area per hen
– of the 750 cm2 area, 600 cm2 has to be at least 45 cm high and no cage should have a total area that is less than 2000 cm2
– a perch, a minimum of 15 cm length per hen
– feed trough, a minimum of 12 cm length per hen
– drinkers, a minimum of two nipple drinkers per cage
– a nest and a litter box, which allows dust-bathing
– a minimum of 90 cm between tiers of cages
EU enriched cage