AUTUMN IMPACT REPORT: JANUARY-SEPTEMBER 2021
To our supporters,
THANK YOU!
You are at the very centre of all the progress we’ve made for animals this year. Thank you so much for your generous donations, your activism for animals, and helping us share our message of compassion!
Thanks to your support, Animal Equality released twelve new undercover investigations into factory farms and slaughterhouses in seven countries across four continents! Also, after more than three years of campaigning to End the Cage Age and collecting 1.4 million petition signatures, the European Commission will phase out cages for farmed animals across the European Union. Lastly, we secured 22 animal welfare commitments from companies that will impact more than 26 million hens and chickens each year. We’re making significant changes for animals – all because of your generosity.
Together, we continue to impact the lives of hundreds of millions of farmed animals around the world.
Thank you for your dedication to protecting animals!
In gratitude,
Sharon Núñez
President, Animal Equality
EXPOSING CRUELTY THROUGH INVESTIGATIONS
Animal Equality presented seven undercover investigations, exposing cruelty to animals used for meat in wet markets, during transport, and on factory farms worldwide.
Brazil
Illegal Fires Cause Cruelty and Destruction
In September, Animal Equality released an exposé on the deforestation of the Pantanal wetlands and Cerrado savannahs in Brazil, some of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Our investigative team traveled to the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest producer of beef, to document the illegal fires; they filmed injured wildlife fleeing the fires while cows used for their flesh were introduced to graze the charred landscape. Through interviews with local activists on the frontline, we discovered that most of the devastation is caused by forest fires intentionally set by ranchers to clear land to raise cows for meat and supply international shipments of beef. Animals can be sent to unlicensed slaughterhouses with no minimum welfare standards, where they are brutally slaughtered.
Animal Equality is petitioning Brazil’s National Congress and world leaders in the UK, the US, Mexico, Italy, Germany, and Spain to take actions that will end this extreme animal abuse and environmental devastation.
United States
Fish Beheaded While Conscious
In August, we released an investigation into one of the largest USDA-inspected catfish slaughterhouses in the country. The facility, operated by Mississippi-based Simmons Farm Raised Catfish, kills over 21,000 fish a day and supplies national restaurant chains and grocery stores.
The conditions inside were not only cruel but illegal according to Mississippi state law. Our investigation – featured on NBC News – uncovered disturbing scenes, including:
- Fish kept out of water and left to suffer for up to an hour.
- Fish beheaded while fully conscious.
- Turtles and other unwanted animals caught in the netting process and ground up alive.
Animal Equality submitted video evidence to the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Office and County Prosecutor, urging that charges be filed against Simmons for violations of Mississippi’s anti-cruelty laws. We also launched a petition to Congress asking for fish to be protected under the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
Mexico
The Egg Industry’s Cruel Practice of Forced Moulting
In July, Animal Equality released an investigation into the deliberate starvation of hens to increase their egg production, a cruel practice called ‘forced moulting’, in which hens are deprived of food and water for 7-14 days. In addition to experiencing extreme hunger and dehydration, the stress causes the animals to lose protective feathers and become more susceptible to illness.
Footage from our investigation revealed:
- Hens with an inflamed egg cavity, with the presence of pus and blood.
- Hens with badly cut beaks, and injured and malformed legs.
- An area of the farm where dying birds are abandoned without veterinary attention.
- Up to six chickens in a cage, with their limbs stuck between the bars.
The investigation took place in Mexico’s largest egg-producing state, Jalisco. As a result of our investigation, Animal Equality presented an initiative in the Congress of Jalisco that calls for a ban on forced moulting.
The investigation was covered by 20 news outlets, including Grupo Reforma, ADN40 Televisión, and Mural.
Brazil
Pregnant Cows Slaughtered Show Industry’s Cruelty Has No Limits
In June, Animal Equality released a shocking investigation into Brazil’s meat industry and its practice of slaughtering pregnant cows. The footage is some of the most disturbing we’ve ever encountered – it shows an unborn calf struggling inside his mother’s belly as she is killed and hung to bleed out, as well as calves cut from their mother’s bodies and dumped on the slaughterhouse floor.
Approximately 650,000 cows are slaughtered in Brazil while carrying unborn babies, despite the practice being condemned by animal specialists and organisations as mistreatment. We have urged the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply to ban the slaughter of pregnant cows and issue fines to offenders.
Italy
Animal Cruelty Revealed to TV Audience
In July, we released an investigation documenting suffering and abuse on a pig farm in the Lombardy region in Northern Italy. This is a follow-up to a previous investigation of another farm affiliated with the Bompieri Group, known for its reputation of ‘Excellence Made in Italy.’
The investigation – carried out in collaboration with local Italian television – reveals cruel and unsanitary living conditions, including:
- Mummified and rotting dead animals in the corridors of the farm, in violation of the law.
- Animals with large cysts, wounds, and hernias.
- Animals living in cages flooded by untreated sewage, with their food also contaminated with faeces and insects.
This brutality is just a glimpse of what the industry hides from the public. Animal Equality reported the farm to local authorities, urging them to intervene.
Italy
Behind the Walls of an Italian Slaughterhouse
In June, Animal Equality released a disturbing investigation into an Italian slaughterhouse owned by Zema Srl, near Cremona, where around 3,000 pigs are killed every week. The footage revealed systematic violations of animal welfare regulations. Our investigators documented brutal animal abuse, including:
- Pigs forced off transport trucks without unloading ramps by being kicked and beaten down with electrified rods.
- Pigs suffering from severe cysts, umbilical hernias, and lameness related to accidents, infections, or malformations.
- Ineffective or inadequate stunning resulting in animals being mutilated while conscious.
In response to our findings, we filed two animal welfare complaints with the local Prosecutor’s Office and a complaint for misleading advertising.
Mexico
Alarming Environmental Consequences of Industrial Farming
In May, Animal Equality released a report of the catastrophic environmental consequences of industrial farming. The information was a culmination of two years of investigations into numerous factory farms in Jalisco, a state that produces most of Mexico’s animal products. It was also a follow-up to the findings of our short documentary, Enemy of the Planet, which shows the visible ecological damage of the region via drone footage.
During our extensive investigations, we discovered:
- High levels of greenhouse gas emissions from ponds filled with animal excrement.
- Wastewater spills that cause algal blooms and ‘dead zones’ in the region’s lakes.
- Toxic odors from poor management of infectious biological waste.
We reported 44 farms to local authorities, calling for the farms to be shut down and held responsible for repairing the environmental damage they have caused.
Scotland
Welfare Chief Quits After Farm’s Abuse is Exposed
In April, Animal Equality released an investigation of a pig farm in Aberdeenshire, Scotland certified for its alleged ‘high welfare standards’ and approved by Quality Meat Scotland and, in turn, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Our investigator discovered that it was yet another accredited farm evading the law and deceiving consumers. Our footage revealed:
- A worker hammering pigs to death.
- Pigs gasping and showing signs of consciousness after multiple blows to the head.
- Sick and underweight piglets killed by being slammed on the concrete floor.
- Mother pigs with their uterus or internal organs painfully protruding outside of their bodies, due to continuous forced insemination.
As a result of our findings, the farm’s owner resigned as the Chairman of the Pigs Standard Setting Committee of Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The farm also lost its welfare accreditation and was dropped as a supplier from major supermarkets Tesco and Lidl.
India
The Truth About Aquafarming
In March, Animal Equality released an investigation of fish farms in India, exposing the abusive practices of intensive fish production. What we discovered within the crowded and unnatural environments was not only cruel but also illegal. One particularly brutal practice is ‘fish milking,’ an extremely painful process in which the eggs from a female fish are squeezed out by hand while the animal is still alive. In addition, the investigative team found:
- Living conditions so unhygienic that fish were given antibiotics routinely.
- Workers cutting the gills off fish without prior stunning, resulting in the animals bleeding to death.
- Conscious catfish clubbed several times in an effort to slaughter them.
- Children slaughtering fish, which violates child-employment laws.
The abuse witnessed on these farms is in direct violation of India’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the country’s constitution. Animal Equality reported our findings to India’s government and launched a petition addressed to local authorities.
Spain
Pigs Suffer on ‘Farm of Horrors’
In February, Animal Equality released an investigation exposing the brutality and pollution caused by industrial farming from a pig farm in Spain. Our investigators traveled to Catalonia, Spain, where the country’s highest concentration of intensive pig farms are located. Not only was the farm not compliant with Spanish pig welfare regulations, but evidence also showed animal abuse, dangerous sanitation issues, and possible environmental crimes. The investigative team found:
- Pigs forced to live amongst filth, as well as eating food and drinking water contaminated with excrement.
- Injured pigs, some only able to crawl, left to suffer and die without veterinary attention.
- Pigs living with the rotting carcass of their companion, risking potential disease transmission.
- The illegal dumping of dangerous animal waste.
We reported our findings to local authorities so that the farm’s operators could be held accountable. This investigation was part of our #SecretoIbérico campaign in Spain, including a petition addressed to the European Commission requesting that it stop subsidising marketing campaigns promoting the pork industry with public funds.
Italy
Pig Cruelty And Deceptive Marketing
In February, Animal Equality released an investigation revealing the brutal and dangerous operations of factory farms from inside a pig farm in northern Italy. Animal Equality brought Italian journalist Roberta Spinelli to a farm in Brescia – a region that markets its products with the stamp of ‘Excellence Made in Italy.’
What we discovered was nothing close to the peaceful images of animals on green pastures portrayed by the region’s producers. The investigative team found:
- Animals with cysts and sores, unable to walk because of their painful wounds.
- Workers dragging frantic pigs by their legs with ropes.
- Sewage not properly disposed of, polluting the waters of a nearby ditch.
Based on our findings, a formal complaint against the farm owners was delivered to the Prosecutor’s Office of Brescia. In addition, a petition was launched in Italy addressed to the Presidency of the Council and the Minister of Health asking for more frequent and effective controls to be carried out to ensure compliance with the country’s rules on hygiene and animal welfare.
Scotland
First-ever Look Inside UK Fish Slaughterhouse
In February, Animal Equality released an investigation into a Scottish salmon slaughterhouse, and the footage was the first of its kind to be released in the United Kingdom. The investigation, published exclusively by The Times, revealed serious animal welfare abuses, including:
- Ineffective stunning leaving animals fully conscious while being killed.
- Salmon being violently clubbed multiple times (as many as seven times per animal).
- Gills being torn by workers using their fingers rather than a scalpel.
Alexander Gould, who voiced Nemo in Disney/Pixar’s blockbuster movie Finding Nemo, showed his support for the campaign by narrating the video of our investigation findings.
Our open letter addressed to the country’s ministers, which has been signed by 70 world-leading aquatic animal specialists, welfare academics, and animal protection organisations, calls for specific protections to be put in place for fish and other aquatic animals. The Scottish government is now conducting regular inspections into Scottish farmed fish slaughterhouses, which was not the case prior to the investigation release.
Progress for Farmed Animals
Our team is working hard to change the world for farmed animals by working with the world’s largest corporations to implement stronger animal protection policies and engaging in proactive legal initiatives.
Puebla, Mexico Outlaws the Unlicensed Slaughter of Animals
In July, the Congress of the State of Puebla, Mexico approved a bill banning unlicensed slaughterhouses and the slaughter of animals without stunning with overwhelming, almost unanimous, support. The new reform will make these actions a crime punishable up to four years in prison. Thanks to this resolution, which comes after a series of meetings Animal Equality had with government authorities, more than 100 million animals will no longer be brutally killed in illegal facilities without stunning.
EU Announces Historic Ban On Cages
In a historic move driven forward by the End the Cage Age campaign, the European Commission voted on 30th June to phase out cages for farmed animals across the European Union (EU), with the aim of banning them completely by 2027.
Animal Equality joined the campaign in 2018 alongside more than 170 organisations. Since then, we helped generate the 1.4 million validated signatures on the official petition. Our teams in Germany, Italy, and Spain released a number of investigations into the use of cages by factory farms in the EU.
This groundbreaking commitment from the European Commission should set a strong precedent for other countries around the world to follow, including the UK. Once the ban is put in place, it will affect around 300 million animals every year.
Revolutionary Animal Law Introduced in Jalisco
In March, Animal Equality proposed a new farmed animal bill in Jalisco, Mexico, where over 200 million animals are raised and killed for food. The bill seeks to include animals raised for human consumption in the state’s current animal protection law and would add many meaningful protections for those currently trapped in the system. When passed, the bill will:
- Ensure that all animals have access to adequate food and water.
- Regulate the production of cage-free eggs, defining cage-free standards.
- Guarantee breed selection takes into account animal health.
- Mandate that painful interventions (such as dehorning, tail cutting, castration) be performed by trained personnel under veterinary supervision.
- Provide animals with significant environmental enrichment and enough dark time to rest.
- Provide guidelines for natural disaster management that include evacuation if required.
Once the initiative is approved, Animal Equality will develop the first rules and regulations for farmed animals across Jalisco.
Sustainable Food Initiative in Mexico
In partnership with the civil association, Alianza Alimentaria, Animal Equality promoted a bill before the Senate to reform the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. This initiative empowers the Federation, States, Mexico City, and its Districts and Municipalities to legislate on dietary issues with a comprehensive vision of sustainability that considers the welfare of people, the environment, and animals alike.
Given the need to feed a growing population, it is urgent to change the food system, which requires a change at the legislative and executive levels so that laws, programs, projects, and public policies have a sustainable context and vision.
Current demand for animal products does not allow for sustainable production. Several nations around the world are already taking action and this initiative puts Mexico on that path.
LEGAL ADVOCACY
- In June, the US Supreme Court declined to review a challenge brought by the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) against California’s Prop 12, which prohibits the sale of certain meat products that do not conform with the state’s animal housing standards. The Court’s decision not to take up the case means the law will go into effect as scheduled on 1st January 2022. Animal Equality was among the groups that intervened in the case to help defend this important law against NAMI’s attack.
- In June, Nevada became the ninth US state to ban the use of cages in the egg industry. Animal Equality actively worked on this campaign, mobilising our network of activists in Nevada to take strategic legislative actions supporting the bill. In addition to banning the use of cages, this new law will also ban the sale of eggs from caged hens, wherever they originate. This win will impact roughly 3.5 million hens per year once the law goes into effect in 2024.
- In February, Animal Equality beat Tyson’s motion to dismiss our false-advertising lawsuit against them. Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in support of our parallel complaint against Tyson pending before the Commission. We also drafted a model bill to regulate the use of animal welfare-related claims in advertising and on product labels to prevent humane-washing.
- In January, Animal Equality resolved a lawsuit over Champion Petfoods’ marketing of trout in its products containing farm-raised trout. Champion Petfoods has corrected ‘wild-caught’ marketing claims on its website and has agreed to provide additional transparency regarding its fish sourcing practices. Champion also agreed to partner with an animal welfare consultant to provide additional animal welfare education to employees.
- In January, Utah became the eighth US state to ban cages in the egg industry. The bill will come into effect starting 1st January 2025. Although the bill was stripped of the provision banning the sale of eggs from caged hens, the remaining ban on the in-state use of battery cages will spare five million hens annually from life in a cage.
Photo: Shutterstock
CORPORATE OUTREACH
Animal Equality convinced 22 companies worldwide to adopt animal welfare policies to reduce some of the worst abuses of more than 26 million chickens used for meat and eggs each year.
This progress is made possible with the support of more than 158,000 Animal Protectors across the globe.
Largest Cage-Free Policy
With the support of our international team of volunteers, Animal Equality and a coalition of more than 75 non-profits persuaded Yum! Brands to adopt a global cage-free egg policy. Including popular chains KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, this public commitment will affect nearly 50,000 locations in 150 countries, which is the largest number of locations ever impacted by a single cage-free policy. Most of its locations will transition by 2026, with a global target of completion by 2030. The fast food corporation also agreed to provide annual progress reporting to ensure transparency.
Subway’s Historic Commitment to Chickens
After nearly two years of campaigning by Animal Equality and other members of the Open Wing Alliance, the world’s largest restaurant franchise has pledged to end some of the worst cruelty to the chickens raised for meat in its supply chains by adopting the European Chicken Commitment.
This decision by Subway will impact the lives of approximately 50 million chickens every year.
Award-Winning Campaign to Ban Wet Markets
In June, Animal Equality received the 2020 #Campaign4Animals Award for the creativity and far-reaching impact of our campaign to ban the sale of live animals at so-called ‘wet markets’. The award is given yearly by Eurogroup for Animals, a European animal advocacy organisation whose key focus is to improve the wellbeing of as many animals as possible through effective legal advocacy and public awareness work. At the 2021 Annual Meeting, members were invited to present and vote for the winning campaign. Nominees were required to show how their campaign responded to the COVID-19 crisis, mobilised supporters, and impacted animals.
Animal Equality was one of eight to pitch to 130 attendees across 77 member organisations. In our presentation, we highlighted our campaign’s carefully curated strategy, resourcefulness, and ability to engage half a million people around the world to take action for animals.
New Technology Can Stop the Massacre of Male Chicks
In March, Animal Equality launched a campaign in the United States to draw attention to the widely unknown practice of male chick culling. Billions of birds across the globe face death on the day they are born simply as they are male and therefore are not profitable to the egg industry because they don’t produce eggs. The US is the second largest egg-producing country in the world, killing around 300 million male chicks each year, while France and Germany are leading the way in using alternative in-ovo sexing technology and banning outdated culling methods.
RAISING AWARENESS
A Step Closer to a Foie Gras Ban
In September, British actor and animal advocate Peter Egan and plant-based Michelin-starred French chef Alexis Gauthier joined Animal Equality to hand in over 225,000 signatures to the British government calling for a ban on the importation and sale of foie gras made by force-feeding ducks and geese.
Launched in June 2017, the petition has received cross-party political support and endorsement from celebrities including Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, Thandiwe Newton, Dev Patel, and Alan Carr.
Raising Awareness at the Golden Globes
Joaquin Phoenix, an outspoken vegan and animal advocate, wore his favorite Animal Equality hoodie on stage at the Golden Globes to raise awareness for farmed animals.
Photo: Christopher Polk / NBC
Jackson Galaxy Speaks Out for Cats and Dogs
In honour of National Cat Day on 8th August, renowned cat behaviour expert and vegan Jackson Galaxy joined our campaign to ban the cat and dog meat trade. Jackson’s video lent his voice to animals and asked supporters to help cats and dogs by signing our petition for an official government ban on the trading of their meat and fur in China.
OUTREACH & MEDIA
- Animal Equality published Barbara J. King’s book, There’s Someone on my Plate, in Spain. King, an acclaimed anthropologist, guides readers in seeing animals raised for food with new appreciation as they question the ethics and environmental impact of meat consumption.
- Animal Equality UK’s Executive Director was a guest speaker on talkRADIO, doing a segment with Cristos Foufas and another with MP John Nicolson. Both segments covered humanity’s relationship with animals, the impact of wet markets, and our imbalance with nature.
- Animal Equality India launched a 21-day Plant-Powered Challenge in which celebrities tried a plant-based diet and shared their experience, including TV actor Krishna Bharadwaj, actress Aaditi Pohankar, and activist Sadaa Sayed.
- English TV conservationist Chris Packham spoke on talkRADIO about our Supermarket Sweep campaign, raising awareness about the plight of chickens in the UK.
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