Farmed Animals: Cages and Crates

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for leading this important debate, and I thank the 322 petitioners in Glastonbury and Somerton.

As a nation, we value high animal welfare standards. The public care about animal welfare—84% of shoppers consider it when buying their food. The UK has helped to lead the way, banning veal crates for calves 16 years before the EU and banning sow stalls 14 years before the EU’s partial ban. The Liberal Democrats in government fought to improve poultry welfare standards by implementing an all-out ban on caged hens. Moving towards a cage and crate-free future is not just good for our farmed livestock: it is crucial if we are to ensure a trusted, sustainable and resilient farming future. Despite huge progress, we still have some way to go. Some 20% of UK eggs are from hens that live in enriched cages, while farrowing crates are still legal and used for up to 50% of sows in the UK.

As the support for the petition shows, the public want to end the cage age. Polling highlights the strength of feeling, with 94% of people in agreement that cages for laying hens are unacceptable and 96% believing the same for farrowing crates. Taking the necessary steps to reduce and eliminate usage is both popular and the right thing to do, and we should implement change as soon as possible, alongside a robust transition that works with farmers to support them to raise welfare standards in pig and poultry production.

The Government promised to have the highest rise in animal welfare standards in a generation, and just last month the revised animal health and welfare pathway stated that a transition out of cages is a priority. However, we have yet to see concrete action in that direction. I urge the Minister to commit today to bringing that work forward.

At our spring conference, the Liberal Democrats passed a new motion calling for a national strategy to end the cage age. We have also urged the Government to launch a consultation on the use of farrowing crates, which the previous Conservative Government failed to do despite their promises. That is not really a surprise, given that they failed to act on the 2018 Stacey review on farm regulation, and in 2023 they scrapped the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. It is time that we put our ambitions back on track. The Liberal Democrats would introduce a comprehensive animal welfare Bill, because we must not fall behind our European neighbours. This action must be taken in conjunction with a strong trade policy that ensures that our farmers are not undercut.

Glastonbury and Somerton is home to many farmers who take pride in upholding the highest standards. Lizzie and Rob Walrond, who run Glebe farm, are a shining example. On their 90 acres, they run an organic, outdoor herd of Saddleback sows, free-range laying hens and a flock of mule ewes, with much of their produce sold direct to customers through their fantastic Pitney Farm Shop and Café. Silverthorne shop in Milborne Wick is a free-range farm, with 15,000 hens all free to roam naturally on its 32 acres, and the eggs—as I can testify—are absolutely fantastic. Of course, there are many others, including Gilcombe farm, near Bruton; the Slow Farming Company in Castle Cary; Upton Bridge farm in Long Sutton; and the Kimber family, who run a farm in Charlton Musgrove.

Those businesses are under threat. If we do not ensure that trade policy is in line with domestic welfare practices, it could allow the market to be flooded with cheaper products that are likely to be reared to lower standards, punishing UK farmers for doing the right thing and maintaining high welfare standards. It is happening already: at a time when farmers are under unprecedented pressure, it is worrying that cheaper chicken and beef from Australia, Poland and Uruguay is increasingly seen on UK supermarket shelves in what seems to be a glaring and hypocritical betrayal of British farmers and misleading to the consumer.

There is not just a moral case to be made for moving away from crates and cages, but a sustainable and financial one. Henry Dimbleby’s national food strategy set outs the need for a sustainable food system, and I urge the Government’s new food strategy to ensure that animal welfare is part of that. In addition, supporting nature-friendly farming is critical to achieving the Government’s environmental standards. The special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019 estimated that 8.5% of global greenhouse gas comes from animal agriculture.

Intensive rearing methods, such as those that rely on cages and crates, can create excess agricultural run-off that ends up in our rivers, while reliance on antibiotics to treat the spread of disease, in part due to intensive methods, can be harmful to animal and human health. Instead, nature-friendly, extensive and traditional farming methods enhance nature while providing quality food for our tables.

Encouraging innovative modern farming systems is critical to growing and rearing the enormous amount of food required to feed us all, but does Government policy support the transition? Worryingly, research shows that intensive systems have ballooned, particularly in the pig and poultry sectors. There has been a 13% increase in factory farms over the last five years, with 22 million animals in mega-farms in the UK. Such units are designed purely for maximum production and profit. I am concerned that the family farm tax and the reduction in nature-friendly farming incentives will only increase the number further, as smaller farms are forced to sell up and are gobbled up by bigger units while the remaining family farms are forced to intensify to remain profitable. The upcoming farming profitability review should investigate that.

We stand at a crucial point for reshaping the future of farming in the UK, and we must take actions to secure a sustainable future. The Liberal Democrats want to support farms by reversing the family farm tax and investing an extra £1 billion into the farming budget. We would provide training, support and financial incentives for farmers to deliver world-leading animal welfare standards. We also believe that a comprehensive workflow review is needed to ensure that all parts of the food supply chain are resilient, including vets and local abattoirs, about which I have spoken before in this place.

Ultimately, ending the use of cages and crates is not only the right thing to do but part of a movement that would achieve the UK’s goals while securing the future of farming in the UK. It is better for our animals, better for people and better for the planet.