Victorian Ag Minister dismisses outright ban of caged-hen eggs

EGG producers have applauded Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes’ pragmatic stance not to simply oppose caged-hen farming systems.

EGG producers have applauded Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes’ stance not to simply oppose caged-hen farming systems.

“It’s not as simple as ‘should we let all of the chickens roam free’,” Ms Symes said.

“You’ve got to understand the safety issues, the biosecurity issues, the health and safety of the birds themselves.

“There’s a lot of factors to consider. I think humane, quality practices are something that I absolutely stand for.

“And what’s the definition of a cage? There a lot of different variables around that.

“Do I support banning caged eggs? On the face of it: no.”

Ms Symes comments follow years of uncertainty for caged-hen producers, who still supply more than half the nation’s eggs.

Victorian Farmers Federation egg president Brian Ahmed, who produces free range and caged eggs, said producers were relieved to know they had a minister who was taking a practical position on the whole issue.

“That (Ms Symes’) response says to me the egg industry can sit down with the Ag Minister and discuss the future of the industry with confidence,” Mr Ahmed said.

The Werribee egg producer said he, like many other egg producers, wanted to expand their businesses on the back of demand for more caged and free-range eggs, but were ­concerned Victoria was following Western Australia in moving to phase out caged hens under new nationally agreed ­poultry welfare standards.

“I have demand for eggs I can’t meet and a permit to build a $2 million shed (for caged hen production),” Mr Ahmed said. “And I’m not alone.”

He said sorting out the poultry welfare standard and giving producers certainty, would encourage greater investment.

Ms Symes’ response follows the RSPCA’s bid to hijack the debate on caged egg production, which exposed how unrepresentative the animal welfare lobby had become.

In urging members to swamp a CSIRO survey on community attitudes to egg farming, the RSPCA exposed its members as mainly female education and health professionals who cared little about the cost of eggs and distrusted the egg industry.