UK—British retail giant Tesco has announced a cage-free egg policy for its businesses in Malaysia and Thailand. By 2028, all brands of eggs sold at Tesco Malaysia and Tesco Lotus (Thailand) will come from cage-free hens. The multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer also committed to sourcing all packaged pork from sows who are not confined in gestation crates by 2027.

Tesco is the first retailer in Southeast Asia to commit to selling exclusively cage-free eggs. It currently operates more than 2,000 stores in Thailand and Malaysia.

This announcement comes after working with Humane Society International, one of the largest animal protection organizations in the world, and other organizations. Dawn Neo, HSI’s corporate outreach manager for farm animal welfare in Asia, said: “We applaud Tesco for leading the transition towards higher animal welfare standards in Malaysia and Thailand. This move will improve the lives of millions of animals, and we look forward to continuing to work with the company to implement this policy.”

Tesco’s operations in the UK and Central Europe have already committed to selling 100% cage-free eggs by 2025.

In Asia, egg-laying hens are typically confined in wire battery cages so small that hens cannot even fully stretch their wings. Cage-free systems generally offer higher animal welfare levels, as they provide the animals room to move around freely, and express important natural behaviours such as foraging, perching, dustbathing and laying their eggs in nests.

Tesco joins hundreds of food and hospitality companies that have pledged to switch to using 100% cage-free eggs in their supply chains globally, including Accor, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, Sodexo, Compass Group and Nestle. In Asia, industry leaders such as The Lo & Behold Group, The Privé Group, and SaladStop!, have pledged to do the same.

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Media Contact: Hwee Theng, asiaevents@hsi.org