Kelly Myers
After compassionate consumers took action to hold the company accountable, BJ’s Wholesale Club made progress toward eliminating cruel battery cages from their supply chain.
When it comes to animal welfare, empty promises aren’t enough—companies need to take meaningful steps to follow through on their animal welfare commitments. So, when BJ’s Wholesale Club quietly backed out of its commitment to go cage-free, changemakers took action to hold the company accountable for keeping its promises to consumers and to animals. Now, the company has renewed its commitment to a cage-free transition, and will work with The Humane League to continue updating its progress toward that goal.
After learning that BJ’s Wholesale Club secretly removed its cage-free policy from its website, consumers spent weeks flooding BJ’s with calls and emails, all to let the company know that its failure to follow through for animals was unacceptable. One BJ’s Wholesale Club member even launched a Change.org petition calling on the company to eliminate cages, which gathered over one thousand signatures in just two weeks.
The company heard these compassionate consumers’ messages loud and clear. In response, BJ’s Wholesale Club did not just renew its commitment to a cage-free transition—it created a clear roadmap to how exactly it would eliminate cruel cages from a large portion of its supply chain, including step-by-step goals for how it would work with its suppliers and The Humane League to make the transition.
What is BJ's Wholesale Club?
BJ’s Wholesale Club is a US-based, members-only wholesale club that was founded in Westborough, Massachusetts. Since its founding in 1984, the company has expanded across the East Coast, where it owns and operates 229 locations. Over 6.5 million households hold an annual membership to BJ’s, allowing them to purchase bulk groceries and household needs at discounted prices.
How is BJ's cage-free policy good for chickens?
BJ’s updated cage-free policy takes meaningful steps to end one of the worst forms of abuse in factory farms: the confinement of chickens in battery cages.
Battery cages condemn egg-laying hens to a lifetime of misery. These tight, wire enclosures trap anywhere from 10 to 12 hens within their confines, giving each hen less than a single square foot of space to live—an area no bigger than the size of an iPad. The intensive confinement prevents hens from moving around or even outstretching their wings. The impacts of battery cages are devastating for hens’ minds and bodies—hens have no freedom to express any of their natural behaviors, and they spend the majority of their days in excruciating physical pain. The constant pressure of the wire and the friction from constantly rubbing against other hens can result in debilitating foot deformities, painful skin lesions, and impaired mobility. Unable to handle the stress of confinement, many hens die in these cages, their bodies left on the barren floor for other hens to perch on. These conditions are horrific, and yet, they’ve become the norm in cruel factory farms.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Egg-laying hens deserve better than a life of abuse and neglect. That’s why so many companies are taking steps to eliminate battery cages from their supply chain altogether, and regularly reporting on their progress toward going cage-free. BJ’s Wholesale Club following through on its commitment to eliminate battery cages will spare the hens in its supply chain from a lifetime of cruel confinement.
What does BJ's cage-free policy actually say?
BJ’s cage-free policy is a move in the right direction for chickens. Before consumers campaigned to hold BJ’s accountable, the company only had a vague statement on its website—that it would “transition to cage-free eggs as quickly as the industry allows.” This statement doesn’t reflect an actual policy or commitment to eliminating battery cages from its supply chain.
Now, BJ’s new commitment includes a report on its prior progress toward eliminating cages, a concrete deadline for when it will stop selling shell eggs from hens in cages (2025), and a roadmap to how it will fulfill this commitment. This roadmap sets annual incremental goals and outlines how the company will work with its suppliers to ensure it is on track to meet the deadline. BJ’s will also continue working with The Humane League to regularly report on its progress toward going cage-free and strengthen its overall animal welfare commitment.
How can I help?
BJ’s renewed commitment to eliminate cages shows us that holding companies accountable works. Caring consumers won’t let companies get away with making empty promises for animals—we want to see real change for chickens suffering the worst forms of abuse in factory farms. And, when we take action to demand that change—like the thousands of people who signed the petition and flooded BJ’s with calls and emails—companies have no choice but to listen. Thanks to compassionate people like you, countless chickens will no longer endure a life of cruel cage confinement.
The momentum is on our side and a cage-free future is just around the corner. BJ’s animal welfare commitment puts even more pressure on other companies that continue to drag their feet—profiting off of empty promises to do better for animals, while still supporting the worst forms of abuse in factory farms. Together, we can take action to hold these companies accountable. Join us and call on companies like Sodexo to follow through on their commitments to customers and to animals.
