... British Egg Information Service, 2003) As production intensified into the 1970s and 1980s, many people began to question the welfare of so-called "battery hens". There are typically four birds to each laying cage, which has a sloping wire mesh floor, allowing droppings to fall through and eggs to roll onto a conveyor belt. Food and water is supplied automatically. Until very recently, legislation stipulated a maximum stocking density of 450 cm2 per bird. It was the perceived discomfort of the laying hens which led towards public demand for free-range produce and by 2003 the free-range system accounted for around 15% of UK egg sales and was still rising (Soffe, 2003), In July 1999, the European Union announced Council Directive 1999/74/EC in an attempt to improve the conditions of laying birds. The Directive, to come into force on 1 January 2003, stated that stocking density was to be reduced to 550 cm2 per ...

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