Rules framed for breeding poultry, govt. informs HC

‘Keeping hens in cages is extreme cruelty’

The Delhi High Court has been informed by the government that draft guidelines for regulating breeding and transportation of poultry have been framed by a government-appointed committee after consulting all stakeholders.

The Centre’s submission came when the court was hearing a batch of petitions by NGOs — Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) and People for Animals — which claimed that keeping egg-laying hens in small wired cages amounts to “extreme cruelty”.

The court had in November last year observed that hens should be able to “move around comfortably” in cages. It had directed the Environment Ministry to set up and chair a committee to lay down guidelines on the breeding and transportation of the poultry. “Till a decision is taken, no further battery [small wired] cages would be permitted,” the court had said. The pleas were transferred from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh to Delhi by the Supreme Court.

Space crunch

The NGOshave contended that under the battery caging system, egg-laying hens are confined to space equivalent to an A-4 size paper.

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