Across the world, billions of animals are farmed in cages. That includes pigs, hens, rabbits, ducks, and quail – all subjected to cage cruelty.

Sows are forced to nurse their piglets in crates, rabbits and quail endure their whole lives in barren cages, and ducks and geese are caged for force feeding to produce foie gras. These systems confine, restrict, and prevent animals from expressing their natural behaviours. Compassion in World Farming’s flagship End the Cage Age campaign is changing that.

In September 2018, Compassion launched the End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to end the use of cages in animal farming in the European Union (EU). The Initiative was supported by 170 NGOs from different sectors. In one year, 1.4 million EU citizens signed the petition, turning the End the Cage Age ECI into:

• The sixth ECI to succeed out of 84 registered initiatives in the first eight years of the process.
• The ECI with the third highest signature count.
• The first valid ECI for farmed animal welfare.

In June 2021, the European Commission announced its decision on the End the Cage Age ECI, making a historic commitment to phase out cages in animal farming across the EU. These proposals are yet to be published, to the disappointment of millions of EU citizens. 

In March 2024, the Citizens’ Committee of the ECI launched a legal action against the European Commission. The case – spearheaded by Compassion – is the first to hold the Commission to account over its failure to act on an ECI it has committed to deliver. 

If successful, the Commission would be compelled by the Court to establish a clear and reasonable timescale to bring forward the legislative proposals, and to grant access to its file on the EtCA ECI.

An EU ban would free around 300 million farmed animals every year from living most of their lives in cages. Read more about our End the Cage Age campaign.

World Cage Free Day

World Cage Free Day was founded in 2020. A day set to raise awareness of the miserable lives of farmed animals confined in cages, crates and pens.

A day that we soon hope to celebrate knowing that this unnecessary and cruel practice is no longer in use globally.

World Cage Free Day occurs yearly on the 13th of October or the nearest weekday date.

Dates for upcoming World Cage Free Days

• Monday 14th October 2024
• Monday 13th October 2025
• Tuesday 13th October 2026
• Wednesday 13th October 2027

Follow the conversation, find out what action you can take and share your support by searching for and using #WorldCageFreeDay.