Great Yorkshire Show: '˜Blow for farmers' as Tesco to halt sale of cage eggs

The retailer sources about 43 per cent of the 1.4 billion eggs it sells each year from hens that are kept in cages.

And as the announcement came on the second day of the Great Yorkshire Show, farmers expressed their concern over the impact on producers.

“It is a blow to cage farmers,” said consultant and poultry farmer Chris Dickinson.

“It’s a big concern to the farmers who invested heavily in the run-up to a 2012 ban on battery cage eggs.

“Cage farmers spent a lot of money, £400m, in bringing in new ‘enriched cages’ which will now disappear.

“These guys have made a big investment, borrowed a lot of money. It’s a major concern for them.”

Mr Dickinson worked for the NFU for five years as national poultry advisor before returning home to help on his own family’s poultry farm in Cumbria.

“I’m not completely surprised,” he added. “Tesco has been under some pressure. This has been on the agenda for quite some time.

“Yorkshire is a huge area of egg production, although the majority are free range.

“Tesco will know their market place, but certainly, they have got a lot of work to do.”

Tesco’s move comes just months after a Sheffield schoolgirl’s petition to the retailer attracted more than 280,000 signatures. Lucy Gavaghan, 14, launched a petition on change.org urging the supermarket to stop selling caged hens’ eggs, describing the farming method as “cruel, unnatural and inhumane”.

Tesco said yesterday that its announcement followed a detailed review of its egg-sourcing strategy, which included consultation with suppliers, industry experts and other key stakeholders.

It is now following Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Aldi and Booths in committing to stop selling caged hens’ eggs.

The grocer said it will move to 100 per cent cage-free eggs in favour of alternatives sourced from suppliers who use barns, free range and organic methods.

At present, 43 per cent of the 1.4 billion eggs sold by Tesco each year come from caged hens, also known as enriched colonies.

Tesco’s commercial director for fresh food, Matt Simister, said: “Our decision on caged hens is one of a number of Tesco initiatives designed to ensure sustainable sourcing and improve animal welfare.

“We carried out an extensive and collaborative review with our suppliers and key industry experts to help us work through how best we can move to 100 per cent cage-free eggs.”

Veli Moluluo, managing director of Noble Foods Ltd, Tesco’s largest supplier of eggs, said: “We have already started investigating new methods of egg production, and the commitment from Tesco to move away from enriched colony production in a manageable timeframe gives us the confidence and ability to invest for the long term.”