Iceland ‘falling short’ on poultry pledges claims charity
Animal protection charity The Humane League UK has claimed that Iceland is falling short of its cage-free poultry commitment, with Asda rated a “supermarket of concern”.
Having published a ranking of UK grocers and their cage-free progress today (1 April), the charity noted that all major UK supermarkets have committed to source only cage-free eggs by the end of 2025.
However, The Humane League ranked Iceland as the worst UK supermarket for selling eggs from caged hens. It claimed that in 2023-2024 71% of the eggs sold by Iceland came from caged hens, which is 6% more than the previous year and the highest amount since the retailer began reporting in 2017-2018.
The charity added that Iceland has only committed to sourcing its whole eggs from cage-free hens, not ingredient eggs, which is said “falls short of other supermarkets”.
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The ranking also rated Asda as a “supermarket of concern” over claims of gaps in its reporting on transitioning to cage-free systems.
The charity said that Lidl, Tesco, Morrisons and Aldi are on track to meet their commitment, while Sainsbury’s Waitrose, M&S and Co-op are already cage-free.
The Humane League UK campaigns manager Claire Williams said: “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.”
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.”
Iceland has been contacted for comment.
