AUSTRALIANS in rural and regional communities are just as concerned about battery cages as their city counterparts, according to a recent study.
Research commissioned last year by the RSPCA found 82pc of rural Australians and 72pc of Australians in regional centres were concerned or very concerned about battery cages.
The figures compare with just over 74pc of Australians in capital cities.
Furthermore, around 80pc of rural Australians and almost 83pc of Australians in regional areas want battery cages phased out – compared with around 84.5pc of people in major metropolitan areas.
RSPCA Australia senior policy officer Dr Jed Goodfellow said the revelations fly in the face of claims made by the cage egg industry.
“Cage egg industry lobbyists are very fond of saying that opposition to cruel battery cages comes mostly from people in the cities, who don’t understand the realities of farming,” Dr Goodfellow said.
“That’s simply not true.
“People in Australia’s farming communities and regional centres, who work with animals and understand farming, know just as well as their city-based cousins that battery cages are unacceptable and unnecessary.”
With less than two weeks left until public consultation on new standards for poultry – including egg-laying hens – closes, Dr Goodfellow encouraged people to have their say.
“The science debunks the use of cages and the community opposes them, so it’s time we put in place animal welfare legislation that reflects this, that stops the installation of any new battery cages and phases-out existing cages,” he said.
“It is well and truly time to end the battery cage.”
Setting the standard for the treatment of farmed birds, the review of the code of practice for poultry remains open for public consultation until February 26.
Visit www.rspca.org.au/layer-hen-welfare to have your say.
