Aldi Inc., based in Batavia, is being sued by an animal rights group, alleging deceptive marketing of its egg products as 100% cage-free by 2025, according to a lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia Superior Court.

In a 25-page filing on March 20, Animal Outlook claimed: “Aldi’s marketing is false and misleading ... because it sources eggs from caged hens.”

Cage confinement causes pain and physical injury to the birds, including bone damage, broken claws, osteoporosis, feather loss, cannibalism and death, the lawsuit states.

Aldi made the cage-free pledge in 2016, then maintained it through its 2018 Animal Welfare Buying Policy, but it added a caveat in 2019 that “the cage-free promise would be contingent on available supply, regulatory and consumer demand,” according to the lawsuit.

“By 2025, Aldi had quietly deleted the pledge from its welfare policy altogether, without a single discernible press release or post on social media,” according to the lawsuit.

In its 2024 Progress Report, the company disclosed in fine print that it would not achieve this goal – but also misled consumers that it was reaffirming its transition to a shell egg supply chain that would be 100% cage-free by 2025, the lawsuit alleged.

An agricultural trade group that represents U.S. egg farmers, United Egg Producers, calls for a space 15 inches tall with 67 to 86 square inches of floor space for each caged hen, according to the lawsuit, citing information from The Humane League.

That floor space is smaller than a standard sheet of printer paper, which is more than 90 square inches, the lawsuit states – while Aldi claimed that animals in its supply chain have access to “sufficient space,” and “freedom to express normal behavior,” the lawsuit alleged.

“Normal behavior” for hens would be having enough space to engage in natural nesting behaviors and being able to stretch their wings, according to the lawsuit.

“When hens are in battery cages, ‘[everything] in their environment is unbearable: the smell, dust, noise, constant confinement and their inability to spread their wings, walk or stretch,’ ” according to the lawsuit, citing a 2019 Australian report.

Aldi makes specific claims about its standards for animal housing, which acknowledge that “animals are sentient beings and their emotional health should be prioritized amongst all management practices,” according to the lawsuit.

“To date, these welfare claims are at the heart of Aldi’s public-facing welfare statements,” according to the filing.

Aldi’s attorney did not respond to a voicemail and email seeking comment.

Animal Outlook is a nonprofit that works to promote humane, environmentally friendly and healthy food options, and to expose cruel and unhealthy practices of agribusiness, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial, wants Aldi’s marketing to be confirmed as violating consumer protection against false advertising and to be ordered to cease deceptive marketing until it changes its practices to sell cage-free eggs.

The civil action also seeks Aldi to be ordered to rectify years of claimed misleading advertising of its cage-free pledge; award an undisclosed amount for attorneys’ and experts’ fees; and other relief as the court chooses.

Court records show a scheduling conference is set for Aug. 14.