Question 8673 — breeding

Summary

In France, there are currently four types of chicken farms intended for egg production: cage, floor, free-range and organic. Since January 1, 2012, in accordance with Directive 1999/74/EC transposed by the ministerial decree of February 1, 2002 relating to the protection of laying hens, cages must meet minimum dimensions and be equipped with certain devices guaranteeing satisfaction of their physiological needs and the expression of their natural behavior. Bringing livestock buildings up to standard required significant investments from breeders and 83% of buildings are still being financed to this day. The compliance of caged laying hen breeding establishments is controlled by the departmental population protection directorates. Consumers aware of breeding conditions and their impacts in terms of animal welfare are increasingly turning to eggs from alternative production methods to cages (ground, free-range or organic farming). In response to this approach, a sector logic has been built where distributors and processors are increasingly increasing the share of eggs or products processed from eggs from cage-free farming. Based on its societal contract, the laying hen sector has built its sector plan around 12 objectives to better meet consumer expectations and ensure the sustainability of the sector. Improving animal welfare is one of these objectives. To achieve this, the inter-professional organization is committed, among other things, to supporting research into evaluation methods and indicators of animal welfare, as well as techniques alternatives to beak trimming. It has also committed to ensuring that more than half of laying hen farms come from alternative systems to cages by 2022. This objective should ensure that all shell eggs, sold to consumers, no longer come, by 2022, from poultry raised in cages. This will involve, in particular but not only, an increase in eggs produced under the acronyms official quality and origin, including an increase of 50% in organic farming and 20% under the red label. This transition, built in a chain logic with upstream and downstream, is more sustainable for the producer than a ban which would place all the weight on the producer alone. During the examination by the National Assembly of the bill for the balance of commercial relations in the agricultural and food sector and healthy and sustainable food, an amendment aimed at prohibiting the putting into production of any new or redeveloped building for breeding caged laying hens was adopted with the favorable opinion of the Government. It makes it possible to support the sector in this transition desired by the Government. The bill has not yet been definitively adopted but the Government's will is strong on this point. This transition is not neutral for the sector because it requires investments and visibility for the future. This is a sector commitment and the downstream sector must play its part in this transition. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food intends to support this transformation of French livestock farming towards a more sustainable agricultural model, economically competitive and respectful of the environment and animals. THE major investment plan will thus be mobilized. The establishment of a guarantee fund to facilitate access to bank financing for investments in agricultural operations is also the subject of discussions with the European Investment Fund.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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