Animal protection charity The Humane League UK published a ranking of UK supermarkets this month, which showed that Iceland lags behind fellow supermarkets in terms of its progress towards ending the sale of eggs from caged hens.
According to Iceland’s own data, 71% of the eggs the retailer sold in 2023-24 came from caged hens, the highest amount since Iceland began reporting in 2017-2018.
Iceland made the promise to source its whole eggs from cage-free hens in 2016, stating that “it is clear that our customers would prefer to buy eggs from non-caged hens”. Food Manufacture has reached out to Iceland for comment.
Supermarkets ranked
All 10 supermarkets named in the rankings have previously committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs by the end of 2025.
Based on data published by the retailers, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S and the Co-op are already cage-free, while Lidl, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi are “on track” to fulfil their commitment.
However, The Humane League UK has concerns over Asda’s ability to meet the commitment due to gaps in its reporting on transitioning to cage-free systems.
According to data from 2023, 73% of eggs sold by Asda came from cage-free hens.
In response, an Asda spokesperson said: “We have been working closely with our suppliers on improving the welfare of their laying hens and we are working to move all our own label shell eggs and ingredient eggs to cage-free during 2025.”
‘Not interested in excuses’
Reflecting on the rankings, Claire Williams, campaigns manager at The Humane League UK, was critical of Iceland for its lack of progress.
“Iceland have had a decade to get the hens in its supply chain out of cruel cages, and yet sourced more eggs from caged birds last year than in any of the years before it.
“Imagine living your entire life in a crowded lift and you’ll get a sense of the awful lives these animals lead. We really aren’t interested in excuses as long as Iceland is supporting blatant animal cruelty.
“They need to move quickly and act to make the 2025 deadline. The British public and hundreds of thousands of hens deserve far better.”
