New Zealand’s nationwide ban on battery caged hens has created an egg shortage, pushing up prices for eggs and the foods requiring it, such as breakfast staples and desserts.
Battery cages are small, wire cages used to house egg-laying hens. Each cage is about 40 centimetres (16 inches) and contains four to seven hens.
In 2012, the government announced that battery cages for hens in New Zealand would become illegal from 2023, following Europe’s ban in 2012.
It outlined a series of deadlines for farmers to incrementally give hens more space and completely phase out of battery cages.
Egg Producers Federation Executive Director Michael Brooks recently said that the ban has caused more than 75 percent of chicken farmers to have to change their farming methods….