(Reuters) - Cara Operations Ltd (>> Cara Operations Ltd), owner of the Swiss Chalet casual dining chain and Harvey's burger outlets familiar across Canada, said on Thursday it would serve only cage-free eggs at all its restaurants by 2020.

Canada's largest full-service restaurant operator joins a growing number of companies, including Mondelez International Inc (>> Mondelez International Inc) and General Mills Inc (>> General Mills, Inc.), in announcing plans to stop using eggs laid by caged hens.

The decision comes at a time when the food industry is under pressure from lobby groups to adopt animal welfare practices.

Cara said some of its brands would begin using cage-free eggs as early as this year. The company operated slightly over 1,000 restaurants as of Dec. 27, most of them in Canada.

"Our customers increasingly want to know more about the source of the food they eat. Our decision to source only cage-free eggs is one more step in this direction," Chief Executive Bill Gregson said in a statement.

(Reporting by Manish Parashar in Bengaluru; Editing by Robin Paxton)