Up to 80 chickens can be placed in colony cages. Photo: Supplied
Animal rights charity SAFE is calling on the government to follow the UK, where the government is consulting on banning caged hens.
Battery cages have been banned in New Zealand since 2023, however, larger colony cages - which are much larger but house dozens of hens - are still allowed.
In January, the UK government sought public consultation on its proposal to phase out the caging of layer hens by 2032.
SAFE head of campaigns Jessica Chambers said cages had been recognised to cause harm, frustration and distress for hens, and the government should ban them.
"Overseas dozens of countries and states including the UK and the EU are either in the process of ending cruel cage animal farming or are in the beginning stages of that where they're consulting with the public," she said.
"In the meantime, over 1.2 million hens in New Zealand remain confined in colony cages every year because our government has failed to act."
Cages were cruel, Chambers said.
"One colony cage can house up to 80 birds, where they are given space about the size of an A4 sheet of paper. These birds don't get outside, they don't see sunlight, their entire lives are spent in dark, crowded cages," she said.
"It would be very logical for New Zealand to start assessing why these cages are still in use in New Zealand and begin the process of phasing them out. Unfortunately our government hasn't reviewed these systems in a very, very long time."
Associate Minister for Agriculture Andrew Hoggard said the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) was reviewing the poultry code at present.
It would initially focus on enabling contingency planning for a possible incursion of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, he said.
"NAWAC will provide its advice to me in due course but there are already plenty of options for people who want to buy cage-free eggs and can afford it," Hoggard said.
"At a time when the economic recovery is building and people are still battling with the cost of living I don't think it's in the best interests of New Zealanders to heap more costs on food producers which will then just get passed on to consumers."
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