In a new TV commercial launched this week, SAFE is telling politicians, "It’s time to put the chicken before the egg."

SAFE CEO Debra Ashton said hens have been waiting for six years for colony cages to be banned.

"The Labour and the Green parties both made commitments to ban the caging of hens, which they are yet to follow through with," said Ashton.

Conventional battery cages will be phased out by 2022 and replaced with colony cages, which are still highly confined systems. The increase of space amounts to the size of a credit card. In New Zealand, close to 3 million hens are kept in colony cages, small wire cages, where the conditions are so crowded, hens cannot spread their wings or exhibit other natural behaviours.

Colony cages are now being phased out in parts of Europe, including Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Walloon Region of Belgium and Austria. In the USA, seven states have banned the sale and production of cage eggs.

"We want all parties to commit to this goal by this year’s election," said Ashton. "Hens deserve a life worth living."

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