On June 24, 2007, the Israeli government decided to reform the egg industry in Israel. According to the decision taken then, the old battery-cage facilities (the majority of the egg production facilities in Israel) will be demolished, and new, larger and more industrialized facilities will be built instead; the government will subsidize this reform using approx. NIS 300,000,000 of public funds.
The new facilities planned by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of this reform are battery-cage facilities. This plan totally ignored chicken welfare, the provisions of the Animal Welfare Law, and the fact that 30 states around the world banned battery cages. Following an appeal by Anonymous, the Ministry of Agriculture appointed in early 2009 "a professional committee to examine layer welfare", and instructed it to submit its recommendations within two months. The members were chosen among Ministry of Agriculture's staff, and unlike similar committees in Europe, did not include even a single expert on chicken welfare.
On July 19, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that "the professional committee" had recommended that each hen in the new cages will be allocated a living space of 550 sq/cm (less than the size of an A4 page). In Europe, putting such new cages into use is banned since January 1, 2003; yet in Israel even setting a minimum living space per hen (one that is larger than the current space, which is 350-450 sq/cm) is a precedent. The Ministry of Agriculture declared that the cages built will be extendible, yet did not set a date to apply this extension, nor did it commit itself to the fact that such extension may ever be needed.
Due to these inadequate recommendations, Anonymous for Animal Rights appealed on 7 September 2009 to the Israeli Supreme Court, in conjunction with Noah (the Israeli Federation of Animal Protection Societies) and the Society for Farm Animals. In this appeal, the court was asked to put a halt to the reform until provisions will be added to define the minimum conditions required to keep the hens, as stipulated by the Animal Welfare Law.
That appeal was made following two months of public campaigning, which brought about serious and critical discussion on that reform in the media on an almost weekly basis. On 29 November 2009, the Supreme Court decided that the egg industry reform should be halted temporarily until a new decision has been taken, and provisions regarding chicken welfare have been added.
The new facilities planned by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of this reform are battery-cage facilities. This plan totally ignored chicken welfare, the provisions of the Animal Welfare Law, and the fact that 30 states around the world banned battery cages. Following an appeal by Anonymous, the Ministry of Agriculture appointed in early 2009 "a professional committee to examine layer welfare", and instructed it to submit its recommendations within two months. The members were chosen among Ministry of Agriculture's staff, and unlike similar committees in Europe, did not include even a single expert on chicken welfare.
On July 19, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that "the professional committee" had recommended that each hen in the new cages will be allocated a living space of 550 sq/cm (less than the size of an A4 page). In Europe, putting such new cages into use is banned since January 1, 2003; yet in Israel even setting a minimum living space per hen (one that is larger than the current space, which is 350-450 sq/cm) is a precedent. The Ministry of Agriculture declared that the cages built will be extendible, yet did not set a date to apply this extension, nor did it commit itself to the fact that such extension may ever be needed.
Due to these inadequate recommendations, Anonymous for Animal Rights appealed on 7 September 2009 to the Israeli Supreme Court, in conjunction with Noah (the Israeli Federation of Animal Protection Societies) and the Society for Farm Animals. In this appeal, the court was asked to put a halt to the reform until provisions will be added to define the minimum conditions required to keep the hens, as stipulated by the Animal Welfare Law.
That appeal was made following two months of public campaigning, which brought about serious and critical discussion on that reform in the media on an almost weekly basis. On 29 November 2009, the Supreme Court decided that the egg industry reform should be halted temporarily until a new decision has been taken, and provisions regarding chicken welfare have been added.
