Bare and overcrowded cages.The dramatic conditions of quails raised in Italy

Overcrowding, poor hygiene, mistreatment and exploitation.Here is the dramatic situation in Italy of quails raised in cages.

If you Google the term “quails” among the first results you will find recipes on how to prepare them:quail eggs, baked quails, quails in sauce with polenta.We are so used to thinking of them as a product, a commodity, that many of us perhaps don't even know how they are made - while alive, that is.It will therefore not be surprising that little is said about the structures where these animals are bred, yet these numbers are anything but insignificant:in 2021 alone, over 8.5 million quails were slaughtered in Italy.And it is precisely in these farms that our investigative team entered.

Intensive quail farming:the situation in Italy

A few days ago, together with the Italian coalition End the cage age – campaign supported in Italy by 22 organizations such as Amici della Terra, Animal Aid, Animal Equality Italia, Ali – Animal Law Italia, Animalisti Italiani, Ciwf Italia Onlus, Confconsumatori, Enpa,essere Animali, Hsi/Europe, Il Fatto Alimentario, Jane Goodall institute Italy, Lac – League for the abolition of hunting, Lav, Legambiente, Leidaa, Lndc animal protection, Lumen, Oipa, Animal rights party, Terra nuova and Terra!Onlus –, Being Animals has released a survey documenting the conditions of two intensive quail farms in Lombardy and Veneto — the Italian regions with the largest number of farms of this species.The picture that emerges is shocking:small, bare cages where 50 quails live crowded together, with an available space of ten centimeters by ten centimetres.Quail cannot move freely and satisfy their needs, such as running, flying, exploring, scratching or taking sand baths.This causes stress and increases theaggression among animals, who show their discomfort by pecking or tearing each other's feathers.Furthermore, overcrowding prevents weaker individuals from finding shelter from more aggressive ones.This is why many animals are injured or lacking part of the plumage.

A further problem is that of the flooring wire mesh of the cages, which can cause malformations and injuries to the paws, with the risk of infections and diseases.For chicks, in particular, cages can turn into deadly traps, because they can get their paws stuck in the mesh.According to the End the cage age coalition these are not small family businesses:Quail farms are intensive systems where the animals are confined in dramatic conditions and it is shameful that similar farming methods are still allowed in Europe.There is currently no species-specific legislation that protects quail raised for egg or meat production in the European Union.Quail raised for egg production spend all eight months of their lives in cages, while those raised for meat are slaughtered at five to six weeks of age.

In June 2021, the European Commission committed to definitively ban the use of cages on farms by 2027.A legislative proposal will be presented by 2023 to start the transition and phase-out.An extraordinary result achieved thanks to the 1.4 million people who signed the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) End the cage age, the first concerning the conditions of animals in intensive farming to achieve this objective.

In the European Union, millions of animals raised for food are still locked in cages.It's time to ban this cruel farming method.The role of Italy and the new Italian government can be fundamental in this important step of civilization.We ask Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture and others Orazio Schillaci, Minister of Health to take a clear position against the use of cages, supporting the commitment made by the European Commission and also promoting at a national level the adoption of legislation that prohibits their use. Sign the appeal.