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Farm Animal Welfare

It certainly is because, as we know, McDonald's is ruthlessly moved by the power of the market, and where it goes the public sector should surely be able to follow. Last year, concern about the link between intensive farming and the emergence of virulent forms of flu, including swine flu from pigs, has increased pressure on meat and poultry producers to examine the conditions in which their animals are reared. In the poultry industry, the unhealthy and overcrowded conditions endured by intensively farmed chickens may have contributed to the creation of virulent strains of avian flu. Such concerns have, in part, influenced consumer opinion, which has begun to swing resoundingly against caged eggs. Witness the fact that Sainsbury's, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose and the Co-op have already taken action and banned the sale of caged eggs in their stores. Commercial operators are subject to the whim of their customers, and decreasing demand for eggs reared in caged conditions represents public feeling. A MORI poll in July 2005 showed that a majority of UK consumers believe that cages are cruel and should be outlawed. It is time that the public sector caught up with what has become best practice in a large part of the private sector.