{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T05:13:22Z","timestamp":1775020402269,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770940800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["World"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent and forthcoming bans on confinement systems for farmed animals highlight the growing societal and policy emphasis on improving welfare. In the United Kingdom, the proposed prohibition of enriched cages for laying hens represents a major step beyond existing European Union standards, reflecting both scientific evidence and public concern over the limitations of cage-based systems. While such reforms are indicative of farmed animal welfare gains domestically, experience from the EU ban on conventional cages indicates a critical policy gap: the absence of mechanisms to retire and decommission obsolete infrastructure allows housing systems to be resold or exported, potentially perpetuating welfare issues elsewhere. Similar patterns have emerged in pork production, where gestation and farrowing crates have been inconsistently phased out in different regions of the world, illustrating the broader consequences of neglecting infrastructure lifecycle management. This perspective is based on welfare reforms incorporating decommissioning of equipment to align ethical intent with material outcomes. Decommissioning approaches lead to incentivising or mandating the permanent removal of banned pork production physical infrastructure, mitigating economic risks for producers, and reducing cross-border exacerbation of welfare issues. Coordinated implementation across national, regional, and global locals is essential to maximise the pig welfare effectiveness of reforms. By integrating decommissioning provisions, policymakers can ensure that animal welfare improvements are substantive, credible, and globally effective.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/world7020027","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]],"date-time":"2026-02-13T16:09:32Z","timestamp":1770998972000},"page":"27","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Beyond the Ban: Why the UK and EU\u2019s \u201cEnd of Cage Age\u201d Reforms Risk Exporting Poor Animal Welfare"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5687-7114","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fernando","family":"Mata","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Esta\u00e7\u00e3o Zoot\u00e9cnica Nacional, Instituto Nacional de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o Agr\u00e1ria e Veterin\u00e1ria, Quinta da Fonte Boa, 2005-424 Vale de Santar\u00e9m, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial Nun\u2019Alvares 34, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9753-8370","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gustavo","family":"Paix\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research and Development in Agrifood Systems and Sustainability, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua da Escola Industrial e Comercial Nun\u2019Alvares 34, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal"},{"name":"Veterinary and Animal Research Centre, Universidade de Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mata, F., Jaeger, B., and Domingues, I. 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