As Senior Vice President at an investment banking group where I’ve worked for the past twenty-five years, I know that private equity and public responsibility can—and should—go hand in hand.

Cerberus Capital is one of the nation’s leading private equity firms, and is the owner of Safeway and Albertsons, two of the country’s largest grocery chains. But Cerberus Capital is no leader among the growing number of companies rejecting cruel battery cages for egg-laying hens.

Stuffed into cages so small the birds can’t walk, spread their wings, or engage in other natural behaviors, hens on egg factory farms are subjected to unspeakable cruelty and neglect. Each bird has less floor space than the size of a sheet of notebook paper. Many birds become trapped and painfully mangled in the cage wire or under feed trays. Dead hens are often left to rot alongside birds still laying eggs for human consumption.

Many grocery chains, including Costco, BJ’s, Target, Giant and Stop & Shop have already made public commitments to eliminate cages. I believe that it’s high time that Cerberus Capital listened to the public outcry against animal cruelty and adopted a cage-free egg policy for Safeway and Albertsons.

Please sign this petition asking Cerberus Capital to stop cramming birds into cruel cages and to set a firm deadline for going 100 percent cage-free in all its stores and affiliate grocers.