https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57668658The European Commission has said it will work towards new laws to phase out caged animal farming across the bloc.
It comes after a petition demanding an end to the controversial system collected more than 1.4 million names.
Rabbits, young hens, quails, ducks and geese would be affected by the changes.
"Animals are sentient beings and we have a moral, societal responsibility to ensure that on-farm conditions for animals reflect this," EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.
The new legislation will be proposed by 2023 and the changes would be gradually phased in by 2027.
Laying hens, sows and calves are already covered by EU cage rules, although hens are currently allowed to be housed in "furnished" cage systems. These are more spacious than tightly-packed battery cages, which were banned across the EU in 2012, however welfare investigators found farms in several EU countries still using them in 2015.
