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Petition Letter

We, the undersigned, join Animal Equality in calling for a ban on the importation of foie gras produced by force-feeding into the UK.

Foie gras produced by force-feeding is immensely cruel and causes unimaginable suffering to millions of birds each year around the world. The force-feeding process – also known as gavage – involves forcing a tube down the throats of terrified ducks and geese, to shoot inside of them larger amounts of food than they would ever willingly ingest.

There is an abundance of scientific evidence showing that foie gras production by force-feeding generates severe physical and psychological pain for the animals involved, not only exclusively when the tube is inserted in their throats, but also during other times throughout their short lives. The production process causes their livers to swell to ten times their natural size, at which point the animal’s diseased liver is sold and marketed as foie gras.

There is a serious strength of feeling on this issue. With cross-party political support and a YouGov poll revealing that the majority of Brits are in support of a ban, the UK has taken a clear stance on this issue. Strong legislative action is necessary in order to protect animal health and welfare, and public morality in British society. 

As you will no doubt be aware, the process of gavage is considered incompatible with the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (2006), as well as The Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). Domestic legislation states that:

‘Animals shall be fed a wholesome diet which is appropriate to their age and species and which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health, to satisfy their nutritional needs and to promote a positive state of well-being.’

And that:

‘No animals shall be provided with food or liquid in a manner, nor shall such food or liquid contain any substance, which may cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.’

Despite this, the UK continues to import hundreds of thousands of tonnes of this product each year, with many retailers and delis profiting from this cruelty.

There is no viable justification to delay a ban on products made by force-feeding further. The British public is expecting you to take action. Your fellow political colleagues support a ban.

We call on you to take this opportunity to speak up for ducks and geese and begin drafting legislation for a ban without delay.

We, the undersigned, look forward to receiving your response.

Yours sincerely,

Abigail Penny

Executive Director, Animal Equality UK

Over an 11 year period, Animal Equality UK has investigated 50 farms and slaughterhouses, finding prolonged animal suffering, deliberate abuse or neglect, and/or illegality taking place every single time. Animal Equality’s evidentiary footage, spanning over a decade, is a growing indictment of this failing industry.

The Government must work with Animal Equality to put in place critical changes to the legal framework, including the following:

• Implement a licensing system for farms;
• Breaches of licences will result in non renewal and prosecution;
• Inspections required for licence renewal which will be at least every 1-3 years, depending on the farm’s size;
• Those inspections must be robust and occasionally unannounced;
• Appropriate penalties for all farms found not complying with their licences and the law.

Laws are broken time and time again. On every pig farm Animal Equality UK has ever visited pigs have been routinely tail-docked; over a six year period we visited four dairy farms and on each we found severe animal suffering and illegality; and in a sheep slaughterhouse we discovered a Food Standards Agency inspector giving their nod of approval for clear non-compliance. Our investigators have looked into facilities accredited by Red Tractor, Quality Meat Scotland, Best Aquaculture Practices, The Soil Association and more, documenting illegality across the board.

This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. With over 300,000 facilities in the UK, it is not possible for Animal Equality to visit every single facility. How many animals will suffer the same cruelty behind closed doors?

The public puts its faith in accreditation schemes, awards and Government and local authorities, but consumers are being conned.

Public body inspections are few and far between. With fewer than 3% of farms being inspected each year, crimes to farmed animals are rarely detected.

Non-compliance is rife. Where inspections do occur, 31% identify non-compliance with animal welfare regulations and inspectors directly observe animals suffering ‘unnecessarily’ in one in 30 visits to uncertified farms.

Consequences are all but non-existent. When wrongdoing is detected it is too often left to the charities to apply the necessary pressure and ensure action is taken. Between 2017-2019 there were 80 convictions of cruelty to farmed animals under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, compared to 2,662 for dogs. Considering that over one billion animals are farmed and slaughtered each year in the UK, this number of convictions is extremely low. This lack of action is failing to disincentivise legal violations on farms.

The Government and local authorities must end their overreliance on charities, take ownership, and hold animal abusers accountable for their actions. The current regulatory framework is a wholly inadequate safeguard to ensure legal compliance. It is simply not fit for purpose. Already vulnerable farmed animals are being left at the whims of an industry that wants only to commoditise them.

We, the undersigned, are calling for improved monitoring and enforcement of existing animal welfare laws and for increased legal protections to be put in place for farmed land and aquatic animals.

Dear the Right Hon. the Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park, Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs),

We, the undersigned, join Animal Equality in calling for a ban on keeping hens used for their eggs in cages in the UK.

As you may have seen, a recent investigation carried out by Animal Equality exposed a ‘quality assured’ British egg farm confining hundreds of thousands of hens in abhorrent conditions.

Hens in cages today suffer a miserable existence crammed into overcrowded, barren, wire-floored confinement they are barely afforded the space of an A4 piece of paper.

Such appalling conditions clearly have significant and disturbing ramifications for the animals, causing serious physical and psychological issues. Many hens shown in Animal Equality’s footage were suffering from severe feather loss – some were nearly bald. Others showed signs of painful hernias and red, raw skin.

Whilst ‘conventional’ cages were banned in Britain years ago, so-called ‘enriched’ cages – which bear a striking resemblance to those that have been outlawed for failing to meet hens’ basic welfare needs – are still permitted. Latest statistics show that over 40% of hens in the UK spend their entire lives in crowded cages. This is heartbreaking and outrageous.

We call ourselves a nation of animal lovers, so how can we allow cruel cages to continue?

In May 2019 the ‘End the Cage Age’ parliamentary petition amassed overwhelming public support, reaching over 100,000 signatures.

In March 2020 Defra responded, stating that it was “examining the future use of cages for all laying hens”.

In October 2020 Animal Equality released footage showing the devastating impact of cages on hens.

The time has come for us to ban cages for hens.

We, the undersigned, call on you to act now and without delay.

Petition: Withdraw Label Rouge Accreditation from Scottish Farmed Salmon

To: Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité (INAO)

We, the undersigned, urge the INAO to immediately review and recommend the withdrawal of Label Rouge accreditation from Scottish farmed salmon.

Every year, tens of millions of salmon are farmed and slaughtered in Scotland. In recent years, the industry has been plagued by repeated scandals and systemic failings, including:

• Severe animal welfare abuses – Investigations by organisations such as Animal Equality have documented salmon suffocating to death, being bludgeoned, having their gills torn while still conscious, and being thrown by workers.
• Routine chemical use – Including Emamectin Benzoate, hydrogen peroxide, and formaldehyde. One hatchery was part-suspended for breaching its license over 200 times and discharging the equivalent of Olympic-sized swimming pools of toxic waste into a local loch.
• Mass mortality events – Tens of millions of fish have died in recent years from disease outbreaks, parasite infestations, and warming waters.
• Environmental harm – Large-scale escapes leading to interbreeding with wild fish, and illegal dumping of hundreds of thousands of rotting carcasses on a Scottish beach.

France is a major importer of Scottish salmon, and around one-third of it carries the Label Rouge mark. Label Rouge is one of France’s most trusted quality labels, a symbol built on decades of public confidence. But continuing to accredit Scottish salmon from intensive farms – despite clear evidence of poor welfare and environmental harm – puts that trust at risk.

Polling commissioned by Animal Equality shows this risk is real:

• Almost all consumers in the dark – 97% of French consumers do not know that nearly all Scottish salmon, including Label Rouge-certified products, comes from intensive fish farms.
• Animal welfare matters – 87% say fish welfare is important to them.
• Demand for transparency – 89% want clear information on fish welfare, farming methods, and sustainability.
• Trust in Label Rouge – 95% associate the label with high-quality produce, and 57% believe it guarantees good welfare.
• Expectations of action – 74% believe Label Rouge should remove its accreditation if welfare or environmental standards are not met; 62% would lose confidence in the label if it failed to act; and 64% would view removing Scottish salmon as the responsible decision if standards were breached.

This is a reputational crisis in the making. If consumers see Label Rouge protecting this cruel and unsustainable industry, the label will cease to be a symbol of excellence and instead become a shield for industrial malpractice. Once lost, public trust in a quality mark is almost impossible to rebuild.

Alarmingly, standards are already slipping: in 2023, Label Rouge increased the permitted stocking density for salmon from 15kg/m³ to 20kg/m³ – leaving the fish confined in more crowded conditions. Such conditions do not meaningfully differ from the conditions of similar products marketed and therefore fail to meet the ‘superior quality’ requirements promoted by Label Rouge specification. 

The role of Label Rouge is to guarantee products that are distinctively superior; Scottish farmed salmon no longer meets that promise. In 2025, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal found that Scottish and Norwegian salmon are effectively the same product, undermining any claim to distinctiveness. Continuing to certify it misleads consumers and damages the credibility of one of France’s most respected labels.

We call on the INAO to:

1. Launch an immediate review of all Scottish salmon farms certified under Label Rouge.
2. Recommend to the French Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs that the accreditation be withdrawn.

Protect animal welfare. Protect consumers. Protect the reputation of Label Rouge. The credibility of one of France’s most trusted labels depends on it.

To The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

Animal Equality has investigated the slaughter of horses in Spain, Italy and Mexico, in several instances documenting these animals being killed while conscious. As with any animal killed for consumption, the slaughter process causes unnecessary and unjustifiable suffering.

In the UK the consumption of horse meat is rare, with many Brits revolted by the idea of consuming horse meat – as evidenced by the 2013 horse meat scandal when horse DNA was discovered in burgers labelled as ‘beef’.

Despite this, horses and ponies of all ages – some very young – continue to be slaughtered every year, with the majority of horse meat being sold to other European countries. A 2022 survey from the Food Standards Agency found that 99% of horse meat in England and Wales is exported abroad.

The problem begins with breeding. Without statutory regulation on limiting the number of horses and ponies bred annually, a surplus of unwanted horses and ponies will always arise, leaving them vulnerable to slaughter.

The British public clearly considers it too cruel to kill horses for human consumption, so why do we continue to profit from this cruelty through international sales of horse meat? This hypocrisy must end.

Like the dogs and cats that many of us live with, horses are thinking, feeling animals who deserve protection. Greece banned the slaughter of horses in 2020, prohibiting the breeding, use and export of horses for the production of fur, leather, meat or other substances; the UK must do the same.

The time has come for the UK Government to put an end to the slaughter of horses. That’s why we, the undersigned, support Animal Equality’s petition to put in place barriers for breeding and end the UK’s import, export, sale and slaughter of horses and horse meat – and that of other equines – for human or animal consumption.