Dead pigs left between cages, sows unable to move freely, chickens crammed into rows of metal structures, without enough space to fully open their wings. These are the images of the new investigations released by Animal Equality, which returns to document what happens in European intensive farming. This time in Italy and Spain, where the conditions observed by the organization bring to the center a question that Brussels continues to postpone: when will cage farming really end?
The cages that appear in the investigation, in fact, are precisely those that the European Commission had undertaken to gradually eliminate in 2021, after a mobilization supported by over 1.4 million European citizens.
Five years later, however, a general regulation sanctioning its abolition has not yet been approved and so Animal Equality has decided to make this delay visible with a symbolic action: bringing life-size silhouettes of Ursula von der Leyen and the European commissioners to the farms Christophe Hansen And Olivér Várhelyiplacing them next to the enclosed animals.
@Animal Equality
A way to make political leaders, at least symbolically, face the consequences of decisions that have not yet been taken.
What the investigations show
The new images collected in Spain show sows confined in gestation crates and farrowing crates, structures that severely limit the animals’ possibility of movement. In the material released by the organization, piglets that died after birth, left in cages, also appear. Structures used in factory farms can prevent female pigs from turning around freely, exploring the environment and displaying some of their natural behaviors, such as preparing a nest before giving birth.
In Italy, however, the investigation focuses on hens raised for egg production, photographed inside rows of cages in which the available space limits fundamental movements, from the complete extension of the wings to the possibility of exploring the environment.
According to Animal Equality, the new evidence adds to documentation collected over twenty years of investigations conducted in several European countries.
The Commission knows exactly what the intensive farming industry that exploits these animals is like and how the cages in which female pigs and chickens are locked up and suffer are made, says Matteo Cupi, vice-president of Animal Equality Europe.
According to Cupi, the failure to eliminate cages would therefore not be the consequence of a lack of information on the conditions of the animals, but of precise political choices.
It was not a lack of information, but a political decision, he underlines, recalling the commitment made in 2021.
The protest directly involves Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen and that for Animal Health and Welfare Olivér Várhelyi. Animal Equality asks them to translate the announcements into concrete legislative proposals.
Stop the cages: what did Europe promise in 2021?
It all starts from the European citizens’ initiative End the Cage Age, which had collected over 1.4 million signatures with a specific request: to progressively eliminate cages from European farms. In June 2021, the European Commission responded favorably, committing to present a legislative proposal to gradually ban these farming systems by 2023, with the initial aim of starting the application of the new rules from 2027. That proposal, however, did not arrive within the announced timeframe.
The Commission has started consultations, impact analyzes and discussions with interested parties, but has not completed the promised reform.
In July 2026, with the new European strategy for the livestock sector, Brussels indicated a new timetable:
However, these are legislative intentions. Not of bans already approved or entered into force. The Commission also underlines the need to accompany the transition with adequate adaptation periods and economic support for farmers, to guarantee the sustainability of the interventions and the competitiveness of the companies. An approach that animal rights organizations fear could result in further postponements.
Meanwhile, sows disappear from the European program for 2027
Although the July strategy includes a proposal on pig welfare by the second quarter of 2027, the European Commission’s work program for next year does not contain an explicit reference to the elimination of sow cages. An omission denounced on November 5 by the Italian coalition End the Cage Age, which brings together nine animal and environmental protection organisations, including Animal Equality, ENPA, LAV,essere animali and Legambiente. The associations ask that the announced commitments be confirmed through a precise legislative calendar.
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Absence from the work program does not automatically equate to cancellation of the proposal, but fuels concerns about meeting deadlines.
To keep the pressure on European institutions high, Animal Equality announces a new mobilization in Brussels from 22 to 25 November 2026, with the participation of activists from different countries.
