TORONTO—As a month-long campaign to boycott Loblaw gains traction, Animal Justice is calling on the company to honour its broken promise to stop selling eggs from hens who are kept in tiny wire cages for their entire lives.
In a 2016 pledge, the Canadian grocery giant committed to ending the sale of eggs sourced from caged hens by next year (2025). Not only is Loblaw nowhere close to keeping its word, it has refused to commit to a new timeline to deliver on its promise. Data shared by the company recently shows that only 17% of its egg sales are from cage-free hens.
A recently released Animal Justice video exposé involving secretly-recorded video gathered from dozens of farms in British Columbia and Quebec, including farms supplying Golden Valley Eggs, which are sold at Loblaw—shows that conditions haven’t improved for hens who are forced to spend their lives in crowded cages as Loblaw puts off its own commitment.
“This boycott shows many consumers feel betrayed by Loblaw, and the company isn’t doing its reputation any favours by refusing to honour its own promises,” said Camille Labchuk, lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice. “Canada’s largest grocer sure didn’t mind bragging about its cage-free commitment to shareholders, but has refused to take meaningful steps to actually improve the lives of hens kept locked in cruel cages.”
While numerous companies worldwide are transitioning to cage-free practices, and some jurisdictions have banned cages outright, Canadian grocers like Loblaw are increasingly lagging behind their counterparts in the US and Europe. The Canadian egg industry is refusing to move away from cages, and the percentage of hens kept in cage-free housing has stagnated, with around 83% of hens still kept in cages.
“While this is yet another way Loblaw is letting down Canadian shoppers who are increasingly concerned about animal welfare, it’s even worse for the caged hens who suffer extreme mental distress living in cages so small they can’t even spread their wings,” Ms. Labchuk said.
Josh Lynn
[email protected]
Public Relations Manager
Camille Labchuk
Executive Director
[email protected]
