Industry leaders back a ban on cages for laying hens

Leading food companies have announced their support to ban cages for UK hens. This comes as recent polling also shows overwhelming public support for a ban.

However, despite consumers and industry supporting a cage-free future for hens, around 8 million UK laying hens spend their entire lives confined in cages unable to fully express natural behaviours – such as nesting, perching, foraging and scratching.

Some of the UK’s largest food companies have joined international animal welfare and environmental charity Compassion in World Farming, in sending a letter to the Defra Secretary of State, Steve Reed, supporting a move to ban the installation of new cage systems immediately and to phase out all existing cage systems for egg-laying hens by the end of the current Parliament.

The letter has garnered the backing of many leading food companies, including Waitrose, Greggs, Co-op, M&S, Morrisons, Mitchells & Butlers and The Big Table Group – the holding company of popular chains including Toby Carvery, and All Bar One. Many of these companies have already eliminated the use of cages for egg laying hens in their supply or are committed to do so by the end of 2025.

Having support from such prominent UK brands sends a strong message to the UK Government that action must be taken to support industry in transitioning away from cages towards higher welfare systems.

As the 2025 deadline for cage-free egg commitments approaches for many food companies, Compassion’s EggTrack 2024 ‘Spotlights’, launched today, looks at company progress in the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Poland, revealing businesses that are excelling – and those that are falling behind.

Companies in the UK are leading the way on cage-free eggs, where around 77% of the market is already cage free. Overall, 40 companies are included in the UK Spotlight with 19 counted as Leaders, including Waitrose, M&S, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Food, Greggs, McDonald’s and Pizza Express. Seven companies are In Progress including Tesco and Whitbread, whilst Asda and Lidl are amongst the 11 At Risk. One Stop, Greene King and Spar (UK) Ltd are listed as Laggards.

Dr Tracey Jones, Global Director of Food Business at Compassion in World Farming says: “The UK EggTrack ‘Spotlight’ clearly highlights which businesses are on track to meet next year’s cage-free deadline, and those that are falling behind. 26 companies have either met or are making progress toward achieving their commitments, whilst 14 are at risk of missing the deadline.

“To get hens out of cages, the UK Government must step up and enact legislation that supports market transition and drives the change needed for all food companies to only source and sell cage-free eggs and ends the production of caged eggs in the UK once and for all.”

It’s not just food companies pushing for change, the UK public have simultaneously shown their support for an end to cages. A new poll, commissioned by Compassion, has found that more than two-thirds of the British public are willing to pay more for eggs produced from hens that are not kept in cages.

The poll, carried out by More in Common, revealed that despite the current cost of living crisis, 67% of consumers would be happy to pay the estimated 6 pence more on their weekly shop for all UK hens to be cage free and live a better life.

The survey also found that three quarters (75%) of the British public believe the use of cages in farming is cruel.

“It’s clear that the public and industry are in support of a ban on the use of cages for egg-laying hens, but the Government are lagging behind. They need to act by implementing an immediate ban on the installation of new caged systems and a phase out of existing cage systems for egg-laying hens by 2028,” said Anthony Field, Head of Compassion in World Farming UK.

“Many countries across the EU, including Luxembourg, France, Germany and the Czech Republic have already made significant progress to End the Cage Age for hens. Now it’s time for the Government to follow suit and stop the suffering of millions of farmed animals confined in cruel cages across the UK.”

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For more information please email media.team@ciwf.org or call 01483 521 615.

Images representative of caged systems in the UK can be found here.