TORONTO—Last night, during the championship match of the National Bank Open at Sobeys Stadium, Animal Justice took to the skies to expose ongoing cruelty in Sobeys’ egg supply chain.
As thousands of spectators in the stands watched the final game unfold, an airplane circled overhead towing a banner that read SOBEYSDROPPEDTHEBALL.CA. At the same time, demonstrators seated in the Sobeys Fresh Zone unfurled a banner reading SOBEYS: SERVING CRUELTY, drawing attention to the planned release of undercover investigation footage from a Sobeys egg supplier.
Sobeys promised to go 100 percent cage-free by 2025, but more than 80% of the eggs it sells still come from hens confined in cages so small they cannot walk around, spread their wings, or engage in natural behaviours. The company’s own reporting has shown no progress since 2021, remaining at just 17.5% cage-free. This year, instead of moving forward, Sobeys quietly revised its animal welfare goals to include new types of cages that do not meaningfully improve hens’ lives.
Polling shows 80% of Canadians support ending cage use. But without laws to protect farmed animals, and without big players like Sobeys leading the way, Canada’s transition to cage-free housing has remained stagnant while progress has moved steadily in other countries, including the U.S., which recently hit 45% cage-free countrywide.
Prior to Thursday’s protest, Animal Justice supporters held demonstrations on August 2 in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa, offering $20 to shoppers willing to “brave the cage” and experience what hens in Sobeys’ supply chain endure.
“Millions of hens spend their entire lives trapped in cramped cages, unable to even spread their wings. Without federal laws to protect farmed animals, it’s up to major grocery chains like Sobeys to lead the way,” said PJ Nyman, corporate campaigns manager at Animal Justice. “Sobeys made a cage-free promise nearly a decade ago; they owe it to their customers to keep it.”
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