Exposing Caged Egg Production in Chile
In collaboration with:
TRACKS Investigations is working with Sinergia Animal, providing specialist investigative evidence to support its cage-free campaigns in Latin America and Asia.
The Chile investigation is the first release from this collaboration, combining TRACKS’ investigative expertise with Sinergia’s campaigning capacity to expose conditions inside egg farms and press major food companies for change.
Investigating Walmart’s Egg Supply Chain
In Chile, TRACKS undertook research to identify egg farms supplying Líder, Walmart’s supermarket chain in the country, followed by undercover fieldwork at those facilities. The investigation documented how laying hens were housed, handled and killed, providing visual evidence of conditions normally hidden from consumers.
Footage showed around five hens sharing individual cages, with so little space that they could not fully spread their wings. Birds had substantial feather loss, leaving areas of skin exposed, and were confined in dirty surroundings that restricted their movement and natural behaviours.
The footage also exposed the grim reality of how these hens die. Dead birds were piled into large waste bins, while live hens were loaded into containers or carried by conveyor belt into carbon dioxide killing systems. This investigation captured the first footage of these killing practices in Chile’s egg industry, bringing a previously unseen part of egg production into public view.
Together, these recordings exposed both the everyday confinement of laying hens and their treatment at the end of their productive lives. They provided Sinergia with evidence to challenge the conditions behind eggs sold by one of Chile’s leading supermarket chains.
Sinergia released the findings in September 2026 as part of a renewed campaign targeting Líder and its parent company, Walmart Chile.
Watch the investigation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWUHE86q9Uo&t=35s
Evidence Supporting Campaign Action
The footage is central to Sinergia’s “Líder, ¡Escucha!” (“Líder, Listen!”) campaign, which calls on Walmart Chile to commit to sourcing 100% of Líder’s fresh shell eggs from cage-free systems, with a clear deadline and publicly verifiable progress.
Sinergia is using the investigation through a dedicated campaign website, a public petition and media coverage. Supporters are encouraged to sign and share the petition, circulate the campaign on social media and leave comments on the company’s Instagram.
The campaign puts Walmart Chile’s purchasing decisions under scrutiny and challenges the difference between its approach in Chile and cage-free commitments made in other markets.
Media Coverage
The investigation and campaign received coverage in outlets including 24Horas, Infogate, EPA News, Reporte Sostenible and G5 Noticias. These articles brought the findings to wider audiences and publicised Sinergia’s demands for changes in Líder’s egg supply chain.
From Investigation to Impact
This project demonstrates how TRACKS’ specialist investigative work supports Sinergia’s efforts to end the use of cages in egg production.
TRACKS documents conditions inside farms and provides evidence that Sinergia can use to engage the public, attract media attention and press companies to change their sourcing policies.
The Chile release shows this collaboration in practice, with investigative evidence being used in a targeted campaign seeking a specific corporate commitment aimed at improving conditions for laying hens.
Explore Sinergia’s Líder/Walmart Chile campaign and support the petition.
Tracks Investigations has undertaken over 300 investigative film projects supporting over 40 animal protection NGOs since its inception in 2006. Learn more about how you can work with us here. To support our investigative work for animals, click here.