What Is the Price of Caged Eggs? NEW Laws Have Come into Force to Give Battery Hens a Better Quality of Life - but Some Believe Farmers Will Even Be Playing Pampered Poultry Music. EMMA GREENHALGH Investigates

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FROM January 1 all farmers in the European Union were banned from keeping hens in barren battery cages - however it will still be perfectly legal to use so-called "enriched" enclosures.

Campaigners from the RSPCA called the changes "a step in the right direction," but said they have been pushing to get rid of battery cages for 30 years and will not stop until it happens.

The move has also been welcomed by farmers, despite concerns over a knock-on effect on the economy.

But when it comes to the public, the RSPCA revealed consumers in the North-east are largely ignorant - or at least confused - over the recent changes.

Almost nine out of 10 (88%) of …