Wednesday morning nine animal rights activists were arrested by Cincinnati Police in front of Kroger headquarters downtown on 1014 Vine Street after a group of them chained themselves to the entrance.
At 7:30 a.m., just under 70 activists of the group Animal Equality showed up outside Kroger’s offices to protest the grocery chain’s failure to meet their goal of cage-free eggs by 2025. If you’ve driven down Vine Street at any point this summer, you’ve probably seen the protestors, as they’ve been holding near-daily protests since May.
In 2016, the corporation promised it would sell only 100% cage-free eggs by 2025, and reaffirmed that promise in 2018. But in 2022, the corporation quietly announced it would no longer be meeting that goal, as “cage-free egg supply continues to outpace customer demand,” per the company’s statement.
Eight people chained to the building and one other activist were detained and charged by police with “everywhere from criminal trespassing to resisting arrest,” said Adam Hennie, interim police chief, while at the scene.
At the protest, a lengthy row of people on Court Street just across from the demonstration held up signs asking Kroger’s higher-ups to meet with them as they yelled chants like “Kroger has blood on their hands” and “smash the locks and liberate.”
The activist group said in a statement that today’s escalation was due to Kroger staying silent to their months of requests to meet with organizational leaders. Previously, members of Animal Equality agreed with police officers to limit protests from 2 to 5 p.m.
Those attached to the door were cut free by police officers and fire personnel using bolt cutters and saws. Several protestors were eventually dragged away by police.
As of 2026, 10 states have banned the production or sale of caged-hen eggs: Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington. Banning the sale of caged-hen eggs effectively ends the practice entirely since even out-of-state producers are affected.
Ohio has passed a law banning new caged-hen permits, but has not outlawed it entirely, leaving farms who currently operate with a caged-hen system — like the ones in use by Kroger — free to continue production.
“Our ask today is simple: We want Kroger to meet with us and discuss a plan to fully end cages for hens,” said Dane Charbeneau, the organization’s campaign manager, in a statement. “Kroger can end this action right now by agreeing to meet with Animal Equality. By staying silent, Kroger will not make this issue — or the animals affected by it — go away.”
