U.K.: Not Enough Free-Range Eggs, NFU Pleads With RSPCA
Demand for free-range eggs is growing beyond Britain’s farmers’ capacities to produce them, ostensibly due to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal’s (RSPCA) standards on stocking density, according to this article.
European Union law provides for a maximum stocking density of 2,500 birds per hectare for free-range laying hens, although the RSPCA Freedom Food regulation requires no more than 1,000 birds per hectare. Consequently, poultry farmers are having difficulty meeting demand for free range eggs, as supermarkets adhere to the RSPCA requirements.
Reportedly, the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the RSPCA are discussing lowering the stocking density requirement to 2,000 bird per hectare to address the demand issue.