The protest was organised by animal protection charity The Humane League UK, which recently published a league table of UK supermarkets that ranked the retailers according to progress made towards eliminating the sale of caged hen eggs.
All 10 supermarkets named in the rankings have committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs by the end of 2025, with Iceland ranking last.
According to Iceland’s own data, 71% of the eggs the retailer sold in 2023-24 came from caged hens, prompting The Humane League UK to call for a protest outside its Waterloo store.
Activists in attendance handed in a letter at the store calling on Iceland to “stop betraying chickens” and wore masks of managing director Richard Walker.
A recent study by Bryant Research found that 94% of the UK public oppose the use of cages for laying hens. Despite this sentiment, an estimated 8 million hens are still kept in cages.
Speaking after the protest, campaigns manager at The Humane League UK, Claire Williams, accused Iceland of “ruthlessly cheating their hens”.
“Iceland promised to get hens out of cages, and are failing to do so,” Williams said.
“Unfortunately, there’s no roundtable from which we can vote out Iceland executives. They are hiding behind excuses while hundreds of thousands of hens in their supply chain are suffering horribly in cramped cages. That’s why we are publicly demonstrating – to ensure that Iceland keeps its word and gets suffering hens out of cages.”
Jodi Darwood, campaigns coordinator at The Humane League UK, added: “The UK public doesn’t want to buy eggs from hens who have lived lives of misery and confinement in tiny cages.
“While we were warmly received by members of the public, Iceland staff refused to accept our letter urging them to keep their cage-free promise
“Iceland, Richard Walker - without getting your hens out of cages, you are traitors. You have had nine years to fulfil this pledge. Thousands of animals, and your customers, deserve far better than this.”
Food Manufacture has reached out to Iceland for comment.
