Supporting the British Egg Industry Council

I get many interesting issues presented to me in the form of  letters that my office receive every day. One such letter today was from the British Egg Industry Council.

An extract from the letter says,

"Since the beginning of 2012 coventional battery cages of egg production have been banned in the EU.

British Lion egg producers have spent some £400 million to meet this deadline, and are no producing eggs from higher welfare colony cages or non-cage systems.

However, they are being put under pressure frm eggs still bein produced in barren bttery cages in some oher cuntries in the EU. Despite having had more than 12 years to prepare, more than 50 million laying hens, nearly a quarter of EU cage egg production, are still in barren battery cages in 2012. This is more than 40 million eggs per day.

If you look for the Lion mark you can be sure that the eggs and egg products you use are legally compliant"

The letter has also asked that I sign a pledge on http://www.legaleggs.com/ to support a petition which then supports British farmers.

I have been well aware of this issue since 2010, and myself and Mike Nattrass submitted a written declaration on the issue stating,

0087/2010

Written declaration on the marketing of eggs from hens housed in outlawed cages

The European Parliament,

–    having regard to Council Directive 1999/74/EC of 19 July 1999 laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens,

–    having regard to Rule 123 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas it is concerned that a number of Member States will fail to implement Council Directive 1999/74/EC by the required date,

B.   whereas it is concerned that cheap eggs and egg products from producers in Member States using outlawed cages will be marketed after 1 January 2012, adversely impacting upon producers using the more capital‑intensive welfare-friendly cages,

C.  whereas it is concerned that this illegal price advantage will undermine advances in the field of animal welfare,

D.  whereas it is concerned that, unless the law is enforced, producers complying with the EU regulations will be forced out of business, owing to the increased overheads incurred in complying with this legislation,

1.   Calls on the Commission to strictly monitor that the Directive is fully implemented by 1 January 2012 to avoid any distortion of the market owing to unlawful competition by producers profiting from price dumping arising from the lack of application of the above- mentioned rules on animal welfare. For the same reasons, calls on the Commission to act without delay against Member States who are not ensuring compliance of their production with the provisions of Directive 1999/74/EC within the deadline imposed by the directive;

2.   Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the Council, the Commission and the governments of the Member States.

My website also has a dedicated section about my thoughts on non-compliance of EU regulation when it comes to this kind of egg production and how it will impact on British farmers. If you have not already seen this, the link is here

I will continue my stance on this issue and will discuss it in Parliament where I can.  I am happy to declare my support to the British Egg Industry Council.