Israel21c via JNS
By Diana Bletter
A new law sets advanced standards to ensure product safety for consumers and a significant improvement in the welfare of hens.
In a unanimous vote, the Israeli government’s Education, Culture and Sports Committee has approved new legislation that will prevent egg-laying hens from living in cage-type chicken coops.
The legislation will go into effect in 2037, giving egg farmers time to prepare and upgrade their facilities. Until the legislation goes into effect, a minimum living space has been set for egg-laying hens in existing coops.
According to the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry, about 93 percent of Israel’s egg-laying coops are cages of various types.
Moreover, under the new regulations, the practice of starving egg-laying hens for 10 days, with the objective of creating an additional egg-laying cycle for them, will be officially banned.
Also prohibited will be the trimming of the beaks of egg-laying hens after they have been taken out of the hatchery.
The new law will require poultry-industry workers to seek medical treatment or euthanasia to prevent the suffering of a sick hen, or a hen injured by a poultry worker.
The legislation also stipulates that a veterinarian or poultry-breeding guide must be consulted if there is an extraordinary event, such as a sudden increase in mortality rates in a coop or a sudden decrease in egg-laying.
The regulations also set advanced standards for the living conditions of egg-laying hens that will ensure product safety for consumers as well as provide a significant improvement in the welfare of hens.
Among other things, the law calls for new and upgraded infrastructure and equipment for coops, including better ventilation, lighting and air conditioning.
This article was first published by Israel21.
Caption: A chicken farm in Yashresh Israel on Nov. 21 2020.
Photo by Yossi Aloni/Flash90.
