300 Million Animals Are Still in Cages. Von der Leyen Must Act in 2026
Time is running out. Before the end of 2026, the European Commission must present a legislative proposal that could determine the future of millions of animals: a reform of EU animal welfare legislation that must move towards ending cages and the killing of male chicks.
Five years after the Commission committed to act, that legislation still does not exist. In the meantime, approximately 300 million animals are raised in cages every year across the European Union. Hens, sows, rabbits, calves, quail and other animals continue to endure confinement while political decisions face repeated delays.
On September 16, Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her State of the Union address in Strasbourg. It is one of the most important political moments of the year, when the President of the European Commission sets out the priorities that will shape the EU agenda in the months ahead.
The speech will also take place just weeks before the Commission adopts its 2027 Work Programme. What von der Leyen announces in September may therefore indicate which priorities will later make it onto the Commission’s agenda.
What Is Mentioned Matters. What Is Left Out Matters Too.
On September 16, Ursula von der Leyen has the opportunity to confirm to Europe that the legislative proposal expected by the end of 2026 is still on track. She can also choose silence again.
Animal Equality is launching a one-month countdown calling on her to publicly reaffirm the commitment to move towards ending cages and the killing of male chicks. If animals are once again left out of her speech, that silence will not go unnoticed.
Over the coming weeks, pressure will continue to build until it reaches Strasbourg on September 16.
SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO URSULA VON DER LEYEN
A Promise Is Not a Law
We are not asking for another promise. The European Commission has announced that it will present an animal welfare legislative proposal in the final quarter of 2026. Animal Equality is calling on the Commission to meet that deadline and on Ursula von der Leyen to use her speech to make clear to Europe that there will be no further delay.
The future legislation must establish a timeline to progressively end the use of cages in animal farming; prohibit the killing of male chicks; and ensure a level playing field across the EU Single Market, preventing those who have already invested in higher animal welfare standards from being placed at a competitive disadvantage.
The reform must also move towards equivalent requirements for products imported into the European Union and effective controls to ensure compliance.
The timeline is on the table. Now the Commission must deliver.
The Commission’s own roadmap foresees a legislative proposal in 2026 and measures relating to the progressive phase-out of cages, the killing of male chicks and standards applying to imports. But a roadmap is still not a law.
Five Years Waiting for a Promise to Become Law
In 2021, following the success of the End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative, backed by 1.4 million verified signatures, the European Commission committed to presenting a legislative proposal to progressively phase out the use of cages.
The legislation was due before the end of 2023. The deadline passed without the Commission delivering on its commitment. Since then, animal protection organisations such as Animal Equality have continued to apply pressure to ensure that promise is finally turned into law.
And delays have consequences. Every month that passes prolongs the suffering of millions of animals. Across the European Union, approximately 300 million animals are raised in cages every year. Many spend a significant part, or almost all, of their lives confined and unable to express basic natural behaviours.
In 2026, the Commission has put the reform back on the table. Now it must prove that this time words will become legislation.
That is why Animal Equality is calling on Ursula von der Leyen to use her State of the Union address on September 16 to publicly confirm that the proposal will be delivered this year and that animal protection will not once again be pushed aside.
SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO URSULA VON DER LEYEN
European citizens did everything a democracy asks of them. They organised, they collected over a million verified signatures, they used the tools the European Union itself created — and the Commission told them it would act. Years later, the animals are still in cages. On September 16, President von der Leyen has one of the most powerful platforms in Europe. Using it to name animals would not be a favour to us; it would be the Commission keeping its word.
— Matteo Cupi, Vice President for Europe at Animal Equality
One Month of Pressure to Prevent Another Delay
The countdown has begun. Over the coming weeks, Animal Equality will take the campaign from Brussels to Germany, steadily increasing pressure on Ursula von der Leyen before reaching Strasbourg.
The mobilisation will combine digital and street actions. The campaign will include mobile advertising in Brussels, actions in Berlin and Hannover, campaign materials delivered to tens of thousands of German households, and an open letter addressed to the President of the European Commission.
Send a Message to Ursula von der Leyen
Five years of waiting is enough.
Ursula von der Leyen must make clear to Europe that the legislative proposal will be delivered in 2026 and that the Commission will follow through on its commitment to move towards ending cages and the killing of male chicks.
Ask her to say it publicly on September 16 and to turn those words into legislation.
→ SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO URSULA VON DER LEYEN
Our Campaign Across Europe
This is not the first time Animal Equality has taken this demand to the doorstep of the European Commission. Throughout 2026, the organisation has steadily increased pressure to ensure that years of promises and delays finally result in legislation that protects animals.
In February, activists placed gestation crates outside the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels, before taking the protest to DG SANTE to demand an end to cages and the killing of male chicks.
In March, more than 100 activists returned to the streets of Brussels as Animal Equality published an analysis examining the influence of the factory farming industry. The Commissioners responsible for animal welfare had held at least 46 meetings with representatives of the meat, poultry and dairy industries, compared with just seven meetings with animal protection organisations. Subsequent investigations also documented the access of factory farming lobbyists to the office of Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
Pressure continued in April with a night-time projection onto the facade of the Berlaymont building to expose the influence of the factory farming industry and demand an end to cages and the killing of male chicks.
In June, Animal Equality returned to Brussels for further demonstrations, including the symbolic delivery to the Commission of a giant “bill” representing the millions of hours of animal suffering accumulated during years of delay.
Finally, in July, the European Commission put measures to move towards the progressive end of cages and the killing of male chicks back on the table. It is progress, but a roadmap is not a law.
Now a new phase begins. Over the next month, pressure will focus directly on Ursula von der Leyen. On September 16, we will find out whether she uses her voice to reaffirm the Commission’s promise or once again leaves animals out.
Either way, Animal Equality will continue demanding what really matters: that the legislative proposal is delivered in 2026 and that promises become law.
→ SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO URSULA VON DER LEYEN
Defend hens and chicks
Each chicken has less than the space of a single sheet of A4 paper to live in on a typical UK egg farm. You can save chickens from a life of misery by replacing eggs in your meals with plant-based alternatives.