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Sainsbury's is to become the first of the Big Four supermarkets to end the sale of eggs from battery hens.
In a significant victory for poultry campaigners, Britain's third largest grocery chain will sell only eggs from uncaged birds from February 5, three years before an EU-wide ban on battery cages comes into force.
Sainsbury's had planned to phase out the sale of eggs from caged birds next year, but brought its decision forward to mark itself out from Asda, Tesco and Morrisons.
Rowen West-Henzell, of Compassion in World Farming, said: "We are over the moon that Sainsbury's has gone cage-free almost a year ahead of schedule."
The move, which comes two weeks before Channel 4 updates viewers on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's "Chicken Out" campaign to improve poultry welfare, will remove 500,000 birds a week from cages.
- INDEPENDENT
