Animal Equality’s 15th anniversary was one of the biggest in our organisation’s history. We released groundbreaking investigations and important animal protection policies while achieving historic legal reforms as a result of our critical work for animals. We’ve included some of our highlights on this page.

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, Subway, has pledged to improve chicken welfare in its supply chains by adopting the European Chicken Commitment (ECC). The ECC requires companies to implement a set of welfare standards for chickens raised for meat, including ending the use of chickens who have been selectively bred to grow to an unnaturally large size at an extremely fast rate, and who are particularly prone to painful injuries and heart attacks as a result. The lives of approximately 50 million chickens will be impacted by this work.

A Monumental Policy Achievement

In what was the most impactful cage-free policy ever secured, 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 these locations will transition by 2026, with a global target of completion by 2030. Yum! Brands also agreed to provide annual progress reporting to ensure transparency.

Europe

• In a historic move driven by the End the Cage Age campaign, the European Commission voted to phase out cages for farmed animals across the European Union, with the aim of banning them completely by 2027. Once in place, this groundbreaking commitment will affect around 300 million animals every year.
• Following the launch of our campaign in Italy to stop the mass killing of male chicks in the egg industry, the government passed an amendment banning the practice. Our work was so influential that it’s mentioned in the amendment itself. This is a historic turning point that will impact 40 million chicks each year.
• The Welsh Government introduced a new plan to mandate surveillance cameras in its slaughterhouses to enforce animal welfare standards. This measure comes after an Animal Equality investigation in 2019 and years of campaigning from animal protection groups in the U.K.
• Animal Equality launched a petition asking the European Parliament to enforce the rules on animal welfare during farmed animal transport. In addition, we launched a campaign, alongside dozens of European organisations, to create a new government position committed to animal issues: European Commissioner for Animal Welfare.

United States

• Utah became the eighth state to ban cages in the egg industry. The bill will go into effect starting January 1, 2025, sparing five million hens annually from life in a cage.
• Nevada became the ninth state to ban the use of cages in the egg industry thanks to our work mobilising activists in Nevada to take strategic legislative actions supporting the bill. This new law will also ban the sale of eggs from caged hens, wherever they originate, impacting roughly 3.5 million hens per year starting in 2024.
• In response to our lawsuit, Champion Petfoods corrected ‘wild caught’ marketing claims on its website and agreed to provide additional transparency regarding its fish sourcing practices.

Latin America

• Animal Equality presented an initiative before the Congress of Hidalgo in Mexico to punish the operation of unregulated slaughterhouses, as well as those who refuse to stun animals prior to slaughter.
• In Puebla, Mexico, the state congress approved a bill banning unregulated slaughterhouses and the slaughter of animals without stunning with almost unanimous support. Thanks to this resolution, which comes after a series of meetings Animal Equality had with government authorities, more than 100 million animals will be impacted.

Stopping the Massacre of Male Chicks in the US

In an effort to draw attention to the widely unknown practice of male chick culling, Animal Equality launched a campaign in the United States to end the slaughter. Billions of birds across the globe face death on the day they are born simply because they are the ‘wrong’ sex and not profitable to the egg industry. The US is the second-largest egg-producing country in the world, killing around 300 million male chicks each year. Along with a petition, the campaign promotes the use of alternative technologies like in-ovo sexing which spare chickens unnecessary suffering.

A Step Close to a UK Foie Gras Ban

British TV 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.

Award-Winning International Campaign to Ban Wet Markets

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 markets. Our campaign was cited for its carefully curated strategy, resourcefulness, and ability to engage half a million people around the world to take action for animals.