The supermarket chain Morrisons has announced via a tweet that all the eggs it sells will come from non-caged hens by 2025.
The tweet (shown above) also declared that the chain had been “listening hard” to its customers on the issue.
The move follows a similar commitment made by Tesco less than two weeks ago and comes as poultry industry leaders continue to apply sound facts and figures to the current egg sourcing debate.
“Food safety, bird welfare and environmental impacts are the driving forces behind all modern poultry units,” commented the NFU’s poultry board chairman, Duncan Priestner, via a union blog which was “updated” earlier this week.
Writing before the Morrisons’ announcement, Mr Priestner, in a piece designed more for a public readership than the website’s standard farming audience, said: “The egg industry has spent an estimated £400 million on enriched cages – new welfare systems of production giving birds access to perches, nesting areas, a scratch area and more space.
“British farmers are well aware that in every consumer survey on animal products animal welfare always comes at the top of the list of concerns. We know that one of the most frequent issues MPs are written to is animal welfare – hence MPs are keen to see strict welfare legislation on keeping farmed animals in the UK enforced.
“Most farmers still believe too much emphasis is put on the method of production rather than welfare. It should be measured on levels of stockmanship and management systems in place on the farm. If someone really cares about their animals it doesn’t matter what system they have in place, the animals must and will be well cared for.”
