The moment we knew cages were over

It was the second day of what was due to be a five day protest. The plan was to be there when staff arrived in the morning, when they went out for their lunch break, and when they left at the end of the day, every day that week. But that day there was an eerie quiet.

None of the staff who we had waved banners at through the office windows the day before had turned up for work. We asked around. Someone from another company in the building came out with cups of vegan hot chocolate to keep us going, but no one knew where Noble Food’s staff were that day.

After months of campaigning, nearly 70,000 petition signatures, activists hammering the company on social media, mass leafleting outside supermarkets, The Humane League UK’s team turning up and pranking staff at the head office and factory, and finally launching this 5-day sit-in, Noble Foods appeared to have found the perfect way to ignore us; just don’t turn up for work.

But then, a call came through. A call that would change everything.

It was a journalist from The Grocer. They wanted us to give a comment on a press release Noble foods had just put out; the journalist told us the egg-producing behemoth had just committed to going cage free. That was how we found out we had won our campaign. But not just this campaign; it was at that moment we knew the spirit of the UK’s cage-egg industry had been broken. Cages would soon be a thing of the past.

How it began

When the Humane League launched its UK branch in the summer of 2016, it brought with it a renewed vigour to the campaigns against cages that had rumbled here since the foundation of groups like Chickens Lib and Compassion in World Farming in the 1960s. A lot of ground had been won over the decades by dedicated campaigners; the old-style barren battery cages were now illegal, labelling of eggs by system had become mandatory, and some supermarkets had phased out the sale of eggs from caged hens completely.

But, 50% of hens, a colossal 19 million approximately, were still living miserable, restricted lives in cages across the UK.

We knew that the supermarkets were primed for change - they had reputations to maintain, and a competitive streak that meant none wanted to fall too far behind. Following many months and years of engagement from animal protection groups, a viral petition launched by a spirited 14 year old, and the very clear threat of imminent high-profile campaigns from the newly-formed Humane League UK, the last of the big supermarkets committed to ending the sale of eggs from caged hens.

Our first protests against cage-eggs

Now it was time to secure commitments from the remaining retailers, who had been operating somewhat ‘under the radar’ away from the focus of more established organisations. Some, like Spar and McColls, folded through negotiation without any need for a public campaign; the thought of one was enough to push them to change.

It was Farmfoods, a rising Scottish brand at the time, who dug their heels in and allowed us to flex our muscles. We held our first protests against them in a whirlwind weekend of activity, with protesters lined up outside shops in Farmfoods’ heartland of Scotland; Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Edinburgh, with many activists pressuring the brand online. Farmfoods had been ignoring our emails for a while but, the day after our protests, Farmfoods committed to ending the sale of cage eggs. They sent us a blank email, with their press release attached.

With much of the UKs retail sector all committed to going cage-free, we turned our focus to the hospitality sector.

The power of volunteers

Our incredible volunteers, with the support of the public, heaped pressure on restaurants and hotels which committed one after another. Humane League UK volunteer Hannah Masson-Smyth launched a petition against Haven Holidays which secured victory after just 2,300 signatures. Jennifer Brunner won against Butlins after just 8,400 and Trent Grassian took on Wimpy who, despite their name, held out a little longer before committing to go cage free after 27,500 people called on them to do so. The shift was clear. Most companies absolutely did not want to be left behind trying to justify their decision to continue supporting cruel cage farming.

With the vast majority of brands in the UK committed to cage-free egg sourcing, and the brands left without policies becoming smaller and smaller by the week, we turned our attention away from demand, and looked back at the point of supply.

Taking our campaigns to the source

The egg industry in the UK is dominated by a handful of companies that produce the vast majority of eggs. A few smaller ones were already producing exclusively free-range or barn eggs, but the big ones - and the biggest by far - were still keeping hundreds of thousands of hens in cages between them.

Much of their supply would have to change in the coming years, to meet the demands of the supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants we had worked so hard to secure policies from. But we knew there were countless small companies - too small and too numerous to campaign against - that would continue to buy cage-eggs from the producers. We had to cut that off at the source.

We quickly negotiated cage-free policies from several of the larger suppliers; they knew the writing was on the wall and they didn’t want to deal with a campaign. Our last big campaign target was Noble Foods; proud owners of the notorious Happy Egg free-range brand, but also suppliers of immense quantities of cage eggs across the whole food industry.

It was with the victory secured on our Noble Foods campaign that we knew change was certain.

What now?

From January to March 2024, cage-free made up 80% of the egg production in the UK.

Thanks to our supporters, volunteers, and the general public, we’ve made a huge impact for animals, changing the lives of millions of hens.

But it’s not over yet.

To finally put an end to hens in cages, we must push for a total ban on this barbaric practice.

Want to make a difference for animals? Join thousands of others and start by signing the petition below, it'll only take a moment.