The studycommissioned by the Committee on Petitions in the European Parliament, recommends short-term financial and political measures as well as long-term legislative measures to finally put an end to cage farming in European agriculture. Over 40 pages, the study lists possible alternatives to cages, for example for laying hens and sows, and clearly supports the positive effects for animals and for sustainable agriculture. The study also emphasizes that the EU can also use legislative measures to ban cages to ensure that products that do not comply with EU regulations cannot be imported into the EU. This can protect standards on the European market from competition from third countries.

"This study shows once again that it is long overdue to end the cage era in European agriculture," says Manuela Ripa, MEP of the Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP). "Cage farming is devastating for animal welfare and therefore also poses risks to humans. Not least the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us that animal welfare and human welfare go hand in hand. I am pleased to see that farms are already switching to cage-free farming methods. But we need to enforce this across the EU with clear rules and protect our market from products that do not meet our standards. The ball is now in the EU Commission's court."

Ripa had already co-signed a corresponding letter to the EU Commission in October calling for uniform and binding standards to ban cages in European agriculture. The costs of such a reform must not be passed on to farmers alone, but the Commission and the Member States must find appropriate funding for cage-free farming.