Cage-Free Award Eligibility and Criteria

Eligibility and General Criteria 

You will need to be a large food company who can satisfy the following general criteria:

1. The Cage-Free Award is a multi-species award covering the following species: Laying Hens, Pigs, Rabbits, Quails, and Ducks. Applicants need to have a minimum of two of the relevant species in their supply chain. For companies with just one species in their supply chain, you may be eligible for one of our other Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards.
2. Applicants must meet the criteria across all relevant species in their supply chain.
3. Applicants must meet the criteria across all product categories.
4. The award will be given per region (e.g. Europe or North America). All company operations within the region must meet the award criteria.
5. The award is for large food companies and for retailers, the award applies to all own-brand products, including tertiary brands.
6. Applicants must meet the criteria on a current policy or on a commitment basis to be achieved within 5 years.

Companies that have a current policy or commitment to ensure higher welfare standards for a specific species or supply chain may be eligible to apply for one of our Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards.

Welfare Criteria by Species

The welfare criteria to be met for each species are as follows:

Laying Hens:

1. No products to be sourced from hens in barren battery cages, including whole eggs, egg products and ingredients, or meat from end-of-lay hens
2. Current policy or commitment to meet the following criteria within 5 years:
   • No whole eggs, egg product or ingredient, or meat from end-of-lay hens to be sourced from hens in ‘enriched-cages’
   • Cage-free must be written into your sourcing policy

Pigs:

1. Current policy or commitment to meet the following criteria within 5 years:
   • No confinement (sow stalls) during the dry period, inclusive of the observation period
   • No confinement during lactation (farrowing crates)
   • The requirements not to use any confinement (i.e. sow stalls and farrowing crates) must be written into your sourcing policy

Rabbits:

1. Current policy or commitment to meet the following criteria within 5 years:
   • No meat products to be sourced from rabbits kept in caged systems. Farmed rabbits and does should be group housed (individual doe housing during kindling and nursing is permitted).
   • Cage-free must be written into your sourcing policy

Quail:

1. Current policy or commitment to meet the following criteria within 5 years:
   • No whole eggs, egg product or meat to be sourced from quail in caged systems
   • Cage-free must be written into your sourcing policy

Ducks:

1. No products to be sourced from ducks kept in cages for foie gras production and other duck meat products
2. Current policy should meet the following criteria:
   • No meat products to be sourced from ducks in caged systems
   • Cage-free must be written into your sourcing policy

If you are interested in applying for a Cage-Free Award, please contact one of the Food Business team.

Note: The final decision on company eligibility for the Cage-Free Award is at the discretion of the Food Business team at Compassion in World Farming.