‘It’s horrific’: Protesters call on Sobeys to honour cage-free egg pledge

Protesters gathered outside a Sobeys in Winnipeg, calling on the company to honour its cage-free pledge.

Protesters gathered outside a Sobeys location at 1500 Dakota St. in Winnipeg on Saturday as part of a nationwide protest responding to a report by an animal law advocacy organization.

Animal Justice, a not-for-profit organization campaigning for the humane treatment of animals in Canada, released a blog post on Sept. 11 containing whistleblower information about eggs sold at Sobeys.

The organization’s mobilization team in Winnipeg is led by Stephanie Delios, who said Saturday’s protest was related to World Egg Day, which was Friday.

“We thought it was appropriate today to bring to light Sobeys’ lack of commitment to their promise to go cage-free in 2016, which was almost 10 years ago,” Delios told CTV News on Saturday.

She said the organization wants to hold Sobeys accountable for the company’s promises.

“They promised by 2025 they were going to go cage free. Currently, only 17 per cent of their eggs are sourced from cage free producers … they did this through public statements, they did this through their annual reports.

“Since the investigation they’ve made other promises but there’s nothing in writing … we want them to honour their commitment.”

In an email, Sobeys told CTV News the company is “committed to increasing the availability of cage-free eggs across (our) stores, subject to available supply.”

“At the same time, we recognize that affordable food choices remain critically important to our customers. We believe in providing customers with choice so they can make the decisions that are right for their households, while we continue to support progress in animal welfare across our supply chain,” the email read.

Delios described the hens’ living conditions, saying six hens are crammed into cages without bedding, preventing them from exercising natural behaviours.

“They can’t spread their wings, they can’t forage, they can’t interact with each other. Hens will die in the cages and stay in the cages with the live hens.

“It’s horrific, and we want to bring light to that, and we want to hold Sobeys accountable to their promises.”