The European Union banned caged laying hens in 2012.

Traditional cages of laying hens will be banned in the European Union on January 1, 2012 because they do not meet the requirements of animal welfare. Laying hens in any country of the European Union must be raised in one of the following four ways: (1) large cage breeding; (2) free free breeding; (3) flat breeding in the house; and (4) organic breeding.

Survey data show that the proportion of caged laying hens in 27 EU countries is 75%, and the proportion of non-caged hens is 25%. In non-caged laying hens, only about 7% of laying hens are raised in large cages. Within the EU countries, the Netherlands has the highest proportion of non-cage farming, accounting for 54 per cent, followed by the UK and Germany, with 40 per cent and 37 per cent respectively. Sweden stopped using traditional cages in 2002, Austria banned traditional cages in 2008 and large cages in 2020, and Germany and the Netherlands phased out traditional cages at the end of 2009.