The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has described the EU ban on battery cage egg production as “worse than useless”, unless the same guidelines are applied to imports as well.
NFU’s poultry board chairman Charles Bourns called on the Government to take the lead with its food procurement policies, and expressed concerns that the 2012 ban could lead to imports of eggs from countries with lower animal welfare standards.
“While Hilary Benn has been crowing about the cage ban, Government departments are still sourcing over 40% of their food from imports, including products like chicken, eggs, pork and bacon from countries which are still using systems that would either be illegal in this country or which would be unacceptable under our farm assurance protocols,” said Bourns.
