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Canadians encouraged to think outside the cage
The Richmond City Council in Canada has asked city
staff to consider a policy banning cage eggs from all city
facilities.
Bruce Passmore of the
Vancouver Humane Society asked for the ban, in the hope other
municipalities across Canada will follow.
"Richmond would become the first city in Canada to go cage-free," he said.
He said the society approached the
Richmond City Council because Richmond is one of the biggest
consumers of eggs in the lower mainland.
Ninety-eight per cent of the eggs consumed by the Canadian public come from
hens kept in battery cages, Passmore said, but that most Canadians are unaware
of this.
Passmore said he believes Canadians would not buy cage eggs if they were
aware of industry practices. "They just don't know what they're buying," he
said.
Councillors Evelina Halsey-Brandt and Harold Steves - both of whom have
farming backgrounds - liked the idea.
"I would like to see a policy of cage-free hens," Halsey-Brandt said.
Steves moved a motion to have staff consider Passmore's proposal. The
motion carried, with Mayor Malcolm Brodie opposed.
"I'm not persuaded there is an issue in Richmond," he said.
At this stage, it is unclear whether chicken farms in the area use battery
cages, or even whether eggs from caged hens are anywhere to be found in city
facilities.
Editor WorldPoultry
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