WITH Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday, February 17) just around the corner, you may be surprised to learn that around an estimated 7.4 million egg-laying hens still spend their lives in cramped cages.

Allan Pearson, Farming and technical engagement manager, RSPCA Assured, explains:

“While battery cages were banned in 2012, many were simply replaced by so-called ‘enriched cages’ which give each hen around the same space as the size of a large pancake.

“The good news is we know people want better for hens, with 8 per cent of UK adults saying it’s important that farmed animals are reared to higher welfare standards. And there has been great progress - 83 per cent of eggs produced in the UK are now from cage-free hens.

“So this Pancake Day, please help keep up the momentum by choosing eggs with the RSPCA Assured label. This means your eggs have come from a farm meeting more than 700 higher welfare standards, and where hens are free to move, stretch their wings, perch and forage, whether they’re kept indoors or out.

“By looking for the RSPCA Assured label, you’re not just supporting higher welfare farming today, you’re also helping to consign eggs from caged hens to the past - for good.”

You can also show your support by filling out the RSPCA’s quick and simple online form to urge the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to ban all cages for laying hens. It takes just one minute to complete at www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/farmcages .

If you want to see more higher welfare food choices in your local shop, you can ask your supermarket on the RSPCA Assured website.