On December 5, a handful of B.C.'s civic leaders could take the first step to outlawing battery cages for egg-laying hens. That's when the Union of B.C. Municipalities executive will meet in Richmond and review the Pitt Meadows-initiated resolution which was referred from the annual convention in September (the resolution, which follows at the end of the piece, suggests that the province should ban battery cages).

However, due to the November 15 civic elections, the UBCM executive--which is comprised entirely of elected civic politicians--could be completely different. That would mean a new group, who may be unfamiliar with the issue if they were not at the UBCM convention in September, will determine what happens to the resolution. 

Of course, the whole hen issue has heated up since September, thanks to chickens winning in California on the same night as Barack Obama. 

On November 4, Californians voted 63 percent in favour to ban battery cages for egg-laying hens. It was called Proposition 2, and it was the first American ballot measure to address the small wire cages.

The cages are already banned in some areas of Europe, and so far, 13 B.C. municipalities have voted to outlaw battery eggs in their food services. 

That's according to Leanne McConnachie, the director of farm animal programs for the Vancouver Humane Society.

The VHS has been waging a campaign against the practice of keeping battery layers, largely as an issue of consumer choice.

"We [Canadians] don't have the opportunity to vote on individual issues," McConnachie told the Straight. "We vote for the party which stands for our values. But it can be hard to figure out what each party stands for, especially on animal issues.... We can, however, translate the California vote to the sentiments of B.C., and that would tell the executive that the [B.C.] population is likely to support this." 

If the UBCM executive decides to approve the resolution, it will lobby the B.C. government to institute legal changes, following in California's footsteps.

The second vice president of the UBCM is Vancouver councillor Kim Capri. Surrey councillor Barbara Steele represents Metro Vancouver on the executive. Apart from these two, the rest of the representatives are officials from outside of Vancouver and the inner suburbs.

McConnachie noted that citizens can also vote with their wallet, and choose organic and SPCA-certified eggs. Voters may also want to contact their UBCM executive members after the election, and let them know how they feel about battery hens.

The resolution follows:

B154 HUMANE EGG PRODUCTION PRACTICES Pitt Meadows

WHEREAS the vast majority of egg production by hens under current British Columbia practicesrequire battery cages which result in appalling conditions already banned in many European countries and North America;

AND WHEREAS there are alternative methods of production being used worldwide, that result in greatly improved conditions for hens, such as free-run:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge the Province of British Columbia to enact measures to ban battery caged egg productions and urge alternate egg production practices that provide humane conditions for laying hens.