RSPCA Australia has congratulated the Western Australian Government for listening to its community by calling for a phase out of battery cages in the state.
The Western Australian Government’s submission to the draft Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry, which closed last week with over 165,000 public submissions, recommends a phase-out of all battery cages for egg-laying hens over a 10-year period.
This recommendation is in line with the RSPCA’s continued calls for an end to the use of battery cages amid the mounting scientific evidence that proves they are inherently cruel.
The RSPCA applauds the WA Government for representing community expectations and the growing opposition to the use of battery cages, and for acting on the latest animal welfare science.
The WA Government is the latest state government to join calls for restricting the use of battery cages with the Tasmanian Government prohibiting the expansion of battery cage egg production in 2013 and the ACT Government banning their use altogether in 2014.
The egg industry itself called for a regulated cap on the construction of new battery cages at the close of public consultation last month.
The RSPCA is now calling on all state and territory governments to come together to introduce a nationally-agreed phase-out of battery cages.
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