Egg Farmers of Alberta is following Manitoba’s lead and recommending that producers adopt alternative egg laying cages if they retrofit or build a new barn.
The organization’s board of directors made the recommendation during its recent annual meeting, said marketing and communication manager David Webb.
Webb said switching from conventional cages is not mandatory but is recommended because of the growing trend away from conventional egg laying cages.
“We strongly take that into consideration when they make that decision,” said Webb.
The European Union made it illegal in January to sell eggs from hens kept in battery cages. Instead, hens must be housed in alternative aviary systems including free-run, free range, enriched or furnished cages.
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In the United States, the United Egg Producers announced last July it would phase out conventional cages over the next 15 to 18 years.
Brenda Bazylewski, director of communication with Manitoba Egg Farmers, said new or retrofitted egg facilities will be required to have alternative systems as of 2018.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Bazylewski.
In Manitoba, nine farmers have already have installed or are in the process of installing enriched cages. Another five have free run and one has free-range barns.
Enriched cages cost 30 to 40 percent more than conventional egg laying cages. Egg prices have increased 75 percent in the EU since the new rules came into place.
Webb said Alberta’s announcement isn’t a ruling but a recommendation that egg farmers study egg cage options closely.
With EU and U.S. producers moving to alterative cages, it’s only a matter of time before Canadian egg producers will be forced to follow suit.
“Sooner rather than later it will be here,” said Webb.
“This is a soft recommendation.”
Canada’s first enriched cage housing system was built on an Alberta egg farm in 2010.
