At the end of January 2014, the Council of Agriculture of Taiwan launched new guidelines to promote animal welfare in the egg industry, which include standards for enriched cages, production without cages (‘cage-free’) and production in systems with outdoor access (‘free-range’).
Free-range eggs advertised in Woolworths supermarkets, South Africa
According to government sources, the new guidelines will be used to stimulate egg producers to voluntarily adopt production systems with higher animal welfare standards, and also encourage consumers to buy eggs from producers that use these systems. For the time being, no changes in the legislation are planned to ban conventional battery cages altogether.
According to the Council of Agriculture, in Taiwan’s case more than 95% of the country’s eggs are still produced by traditional cage rearing.
The new guidelines were published in a document called “Animal-friendly Egg Production System Definition and Guideline”.
In this document the Taiwanese authorities recognise only free-range or barn production and enriched cages as systems compatible with animal welfare.
You can read the full article on the website of the Taiwanese Council of Agriculture.
