The EU’s Battery Cage Ban

According to the Associated Press, 14 out of the European Union’s 27 member states have failed to comply with an EU-wide ban on battery cages at chicken farms. The ban, which requires that farms increase cage sizes from 85 square inches to at least 115 square inches, had a deadline of January 1. Nearly two weeks past that deadline, AP reports that approximately 14 percent of hens in the EU remain in illegal battery cages. British Prime Minister David Cameron has been particularly critical of non-compliant countries, telling BBC1 that countries that fail to comply with the mandate should stand trial.