It is the view of the Green Party of England and Wales that enriched cages - like battery cages - should be banned at the earliest opportunity.

The Green Party believes that whenever laying hens are kept for the purposes of egg production, they should enjoy certain basic rights and the highest welfare standards. Evidence from a wide range of sources clearly shows that all forms of caged systems are cruel, cause suffering, deny these rights and fail in welfare terms. This means that banning both battery cages and 'enriched' cages should be a major priority for the Government, and should be undertaken at the very earliest opportunity.

In the terms of the options presented in the consultation, we consider the proposal that enriched cages for laying hens should be banned in England from 2012 to be the only appropriate option.

We also urge the Government to follow the course of action taken by Germany - who have decided to ban battery cages by 2007 - and unilaterally ban all cages as early as possible, and at a date earlier than 2012. It should note that 2012 is set as the deadline by which time battery cages must be banned, as specified by the EU Laying Hens Directive, but that this in no way precludes banning cages at an earlier date. If it is serious about animal welfare issues, the British Government must demonstrate this commitment and, like Germany, set a date before 2012, banning all cages - both battery and 'enriched'.