 Activist group Mercy for Animals was glad with the announced phaseout, but called the timetable "simply outrageous" and argued that more urgency was required; some food companies such as Cara Foods, Tim Hortons, Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Starbucks, and Subway announced they would phaseout non-cage-free eggs much sooner than 2036.In 1999, the European Union Council Directive 1999/74/EC banned the conventional battery cage in the EU from 2012, after a 12-year phase-out.In their 1996 report, the European Commission's Scientific Veterinary Committee (SVC) condemned the battery cage, concluding