Undercover Investigation Reveals Conditions at Egg Farms Supplying Walmart Chile’s Lider

In Chile, 96% of the eggs produced in the first half of 2026 came from conventional or cage systems, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). Sinergia Animal has released footage obtained at egg farms that supply Lider and is calling on the Walmart Chile chain to commit to a transition to 100% cage-free eggs through the campaign “Líder, ¡Escucha!” (“Líder, Listen!”)

Santiago, Chile — September 2026. Hens confined to cramped spaces, with limited mobility and unable to fully perform behaviors natural to their species, are part of the footage obtained by Sinergia Animal during an undercover investigation at egg farms that, according to the organization, supply Lider. The footage is central to a new phase of the campaign “Lider, Listen!”, which seeks to get the Walmart Chile chain to set a concrete date to transition to 100% cage-free eggs. The investigation comes at a time when cage systems remain overwhelmingly predominant in Chile. According to INE’s Egg Production Survey, in the first half of 2026, 96% of the eggs produced in the country came from the conventional or cage system, equivalent to more than 2.048 billion eggs. Over the same period, supermarkets sold more than 281 million eggs.

A cage-free system does not necessarily mean that hens live outdoors, but that they can move around inside the barn and access features such as nests, perches, and surfaces for scratching and dust bathing. This reduces restrictions on movement and encourages natural behaviors, aspects that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identifies as important for their welfare and for which it recommends moving toward cage-free systems.

Findings of the Undercover Investigation

Sinergia Animal’s investigation recorded cages housing approximately five hens each, with so little space that they cannot fully spread their wings. The footage also shows birds with feather loss, accumulated dirt, and dead hens being removed from the facilities, in some cases alongside the collected eggs.

At the egg farms investigated, hens were left to die. The footage shows dead hens being removed from the facilities and later discarded at a waste site. Sinergia Animal also has records of conversations with employees confirming this practice.

For Sinergia Animal, the footage raises a question that is receiving growing international attention: what animal welfare standards large companies should require of their food suppliers.

The Five Freedoms and the Contrast with Other Markets

The Five Freedoms are one of the most widely recognized international frameworks for the welfare of animals under human care. First developed in 1965, they are now part of the guiding principles for animal welfare of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The framework establishes that animals must be free from hunger, thirst, and malnutrition; free from fear and distress; free from physical or thermal discomfort; free from pain, injury, and disease; and have conditions that allow them to express natural behaviors.

Companies and organizations can incorporate these freedoms into their own animal welfare policies. Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S., for example, state that they expect their suppliers to adopt the Five Freedoms and to use third-party-verified standards. In addition, Walmart has committed to moving toward cage-free eggs in the United States and Canada, but not in Chile.

In Chile, meanwhile, Cencosud has publicly set out a transition roadmap for Jumbo, Santa Isabel, and SPID. Among its goals is to reach, by 2028, a 100% supply of fresh eggs from cage-free hens at Jumbo and SPID, and 50% at Santa Isabel. This is a transition commitment, not a standard that has already been fully implemented.

“We’ve seen what is happening inside these farms, and Chilean consumers deserve to know it too. What we are asking for is concrete: that Lider make a public cage-free commitment, set a date to achieve it, and show its progress. It is a decision that is entirely in its hands,” says Shammy Coello Jairala, Managing Director of Sinergia Animal Latam.

Through, What kind of eggs are you selling us? the organization seeks to build public support for this petition and spark a discussion about the animal welfare standards associated with the production of eggs sold in Chile.

The full investigation and the video with the footage obtained by Sinergia Animal are available at liderencrueldad.com. Those who wish to support the campaign can sign the petition asking Lider for a public commitment to 100% cage-free eggs at Change.org/WALMARTCHILE.

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About Sinergia Animal

Sinergia Animal is an international animal protection organization working in Thailand and other countries of the Global South to reduce the suffering of farmed animals and promote more compassionate food choices. We are recognized as one of the world's most effective animal protection NGOs by Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE).