On March 14, the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) staged a press conference with legislator Lin Shu-Fen, urging the Executive Yuan to take responsibility for the decrepit state of Taiwan's egg industry. The press conference comes after the Council of Agriculture[1] unveiled new measures to address Taiwan’s egg shortage including subsidies for the conversion of poultry houses to enclosed sheds, facilitating the emergency importation of eggs and increasing the supply of breeding chickens.

The government’s proposed measures fail to meet the moment. The centerpiece of the package – NTD $1.05 billion to convert poultry houses into enclosed sheds – ignores the outdated housing systems at the center of the industry’s woes. If Taiwan’s egg industry continues to ignore global shifts towards animal-friendly farming, animals will continue to be vulnerable to disease and the market will continue to be gripped by egg shortages.

Wu Hung, chief executive of EAST, emphasized that more than 80% of laying hens in Taiwan are trapped in outdated 'battery cages' in which they unable to move around and are deprived of all that comes naturally to them. As a result, these sentient animals live in a constant state of stress, weakening their immunity. To make matters worse, the industry continues to rely on the cruel practice of “forced molting” as a means of boosting egg production. When viewed together with an aging farmer population and lagging professional capabilities, it is critical that authorities find the right antidote to the industry’s pressing problems. 

EAST has proposed an alternative to the government’s industry upgrade package, urging the Executive Yuan to commit to structural transformation of the industry:
 

1. Poultry shed upgrades should be rooted in the government’s Definition & Guidelines for Egg Production Systems (DGEPS), with model farms set up in Taiwan’s egg-producing regions
2. The Council of Agriculture should implement a 10-year plan to transition the industry away from battery cage production, remove regulatory barriers, and support farmers in the transition
3. The Council of Agriculture should prohibit the construction of new battery cages and set a timeline for the phase out of existing facilities
4. The Council of Agriculture should boost scientific research and promotion of higher welfare farming, create incentives for young people to enter the sector, and elevate the professional capabilities of farmers
    

Without transformational change, subsidies will be given in vain
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) the average laying hen produces 202 eggs per year . In Taiwan that figure is 190 eggs per year, giving a lay rate of just 52% – far lower than most other countries. The poor lay rate means 1.84 laying hens are needed for every person in Taiwan to meet market demand (Table 1).[2]

Between 2021 and 2016, the number of laying hens in Taiwan has increased from 39.3 million to 43.9 million, however this has failed to stave off egg shortages. At the same time, pollution and waste disposal issues have raised the ire of local communities, transforming into potent political issues.

In addition, more than 60% of egg farmers are over the age of 60 and are often ill-equipped to adopt the latest professional farming techniques. Poor working environments on egg farms have deterred young people from joining the industry, further exacerbating talent shortages. If the government does not formulate a holistic plan to lead the transformation process, doling out subsidies will only enable further deterioration and see Taiwan’s egg industry fall further behind international standards.

Animal welfare and skills training absent in government proposal
Recent egg shortages have been triggered by complex factors including avian influenza, extreme weather conditions and price hikes for imported feed. However, the Council of Agriculture appears to think that enclosing poultry houses is enough to fend off the virus and stem persistent production issues. While enclosing poultry sheds can prevent contact with wild birds, avian influenza is frequently transmitted through vectors such as people, clothing, and tools. Without comprehensive action, the dense concentration of farms in Taiwan, with feed, manure disposal, and egg collection vehicles shuttling between different farms every day, and poor awareness of biosecurity measures will continue to result in avian influenza breakouts.

Biosecurity measures aside, Taiwan urgently needs to enhance professional animal husbandry capabilities and improve animal welfare. For hens confined in battery cages, long-term stress and poor physical and mental health can contribute to weaker immunity, exacerbating the spread of avian flu and other diseases.

World shifting away from cages as Taiwan continues to invest in the past
The Council of Agriculture plans to spend more than NTD $1 billion of taxpayer funds to subsidize farm conversions, with battery cages among the facilities eligible. 

However, since 1992, countries around the world have progressively moved to phase out conventional battery cages, embodying the principles of One Health, One Welfare. Already, more than 40 jurisdictions have banned or are phasing out battery cages (Table 2), and new investment in research and development is declining. The European Union (EU) has even begun enshrining animal welfare conditions into new trade agreements. For example, the provisional EU-Mercosur trade agreement requires imported eggs comply with EU standards to receive favorable tax treatment.

Legislator Lin accused the government of dereliction of duty for investing taxpayer funds in outdated farming systems, ignoring the global shift away from cages. Legislator Lin expressed that the subsidies should – at a bare minimum – require farmers provide at least 750cm2 of space per hen in line with Taiwan’s laying hen welfare guidelines, as a first step towards the transformation of the egg industry.

Animal-friendly farming key to solving manure woes
In addition to the poultry conversions, another NTD $430 million has been set aside to subsidize the treatment of chicken manure. However, the key to solving Taiwan’s manure woes lies in animal-friendly farming. 

The treatment of manure produced on cage farms is a large environmental and social burden. Farms using battery cages must expose manure to the sun for fermentation before it is removed, emitting a noxious stench and providing fertile breeding grounds for mosquitoes and flies. As a result, egg farms have earned a reputation as undesirable neighbors and are regularly the target of protests from local communities. 

In ventilated cage-free systems, manure mixes with litter to form a litter compost. The dry conditions enable the litter compost to dry out and form a sand-like consistency, aided by hens raking and aerating the mix. There is no need to remove the litter compost during the laying period – reducing transportation emissions and the risk of disease transmission – while the litter compost can be readily used as organic fertilizer, forming a circular economy.

A standard battery cage facility (10,000 to 20,000 hens) needs to be cleaned twice per week. This means waste needs to be collected 156 times in a 78-week laying period, totaling around 737 tons of waste. With lower water content, a cage-free barn of the same size generates just 120 tons of waste which can be cleared at the end of the laying cycle.

A sustainable solution cannot ignore animal welfare
Historically, whenever there is a shortage of eggs, the Council of Agriculture has encouraged farmers to resort to "forced molting." This involves restricting hens’ access to feed and water for as long as two weeks to increase their metabolism and extend the laying period. Forced molting causes hens to suffer from anxiety, weakened immunity, and even death, with death rates as high as 20-30% in some cases. 

Conversely, the international community has continued to refine cage-free farming techniques. A multinational study published in 2021 which compared data from 16 countries, 6,040 commercial flocks, and 176 million hens found that mortality in non-cage systems has steadily declined over the past 10 years; there was little change for cage systems in the same period. In Taiwan, a conservative estimate puts the lay rate on well-managed barn farms at around 80%, without resorting to the use forced molting. 

Legislator Lin said that the backwardness of Taiwan's egg industry impacts people's daily lives and is a drag on industry development. EAST and legislator Lin call on the Council of Agriculture to urgently revise its poultry house conversion plan and develop a 10-year plan to transition the industry towards animal-friendly farming.

At a bare minimum, authorities should root any subsidies in Taiwan's laying hen welfare guidelines, transforming recipient farms into models for the rest of the industry. 

Translated by Pam Wu (吳盼惟)

Media contact
Fang Chu Chune, Researcher
Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST)
Mobile: +886 (9) 2317 7193
Phone: +886 (2) 2236 9735

Appendices

Table 1. Ratio of laying hen to human population by country

^#The number of laying hens is defined as the number of hens which have laid eggs at any point throughout the year.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistics Division (FAOSTAT). (2021). Crops and livestock products. Livestock Manure. Annual population.

Table 2. Timeline of international cage phase outs

*Prohibition of use and sale

^#Some EU member states phased out battery cages before 2012 and are phasing out enriched cages even earlier than 2027