Investigations
Dog and cat meat trade continues in China
In honor of International Animal Rights Day, Animal Equality released a new investigation that reveals that wet markets in China continue to sell and slaughter dogs and cats for meat, despite media reports and statements from the country’s government proclaiming otherwise. According to research, more than 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are killed for consumption each year in the country.
Crippled, starving and infected birds on Indian farms
From February 2019 to October 2020, Animal Equality investigated chicken farms and meat markets across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana—key poultry-producing states in India. Investigators documented crippled birds unable to walk or reach food and water, severely ill chickens dying from starvation, heart attacks, and respiratory infections, and carcasses of dead birds left to rot alongside the living.
Wet markets still operating in China amid COVID pandemic
Nine months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Animal Equality released an investigation showing that China’s wet markets remain in operation. Filmed in May 2020 with the help of local activists, the footage reveals live animals—including turtles, frogs, ducks, geese, and pigeons—being sold in close confinement with species that would never naturally coexist. Scientists link wet markets to the origin of COVID-19, and research shows that these conditions create an ideal environment for animal-borne diseases.
Crammed and confined: The life of a hen on UK egg farms
Between June and September 2020, Animal Equality investigators visited Kinswood Eggs in the UK multiple times. Hens were found crammed into overcrowded cages, each with less space than a sheet of paper. Many suffered severe feather loss and raw, exposed skin, while some died and were left to decay alongside living birds. The investigation was released in collaboration with The Daily Mail.
Limited protections for animals exported from Spain
An investigation by a coalition of animal protection organizations exposes the mistreatment of animals exported from Spain to the Middle East, where welfare protections are limited. Conducted by Animals International and the Animal Welfare Foundation, in collaboration with Animal Equality and Compassion in World Farming, the investigation documents severe suffering during transport from Spain and the brutal conditions of their slaughter.
Abuse found on farms of McDonald’s UK supplier
Animal Equality UK released distressing scenes of severe animal suffering on eight British chicken farms across Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, with our undercover filming revealing hundreds of birds suffering agonizing deaths each day. The investigation was featured as an exclusive in The Independent.
Mexican pig farms deemed an ‘Enemy of the Planet’
Using drone footage, Animal Equality released an investigation highlighting the environmental risks posed by pig farms in Mexico. The short documentary Enemy of the Planet shows two industrial pig farms in Jalisco, housing over 89,000 pigs, and aims to raise awareness of the ecological damage caused by industrial livestock farming.
Pigs electrified, forced to live on own waste on Brazilian farms
Animal Equality investigators captured footage showing pigs raised for consumption enduring cruel treatment on industrial farms in Brazil. Narrated in Portuguese by actress Ellen Jabour, the video shows pigs being beaten with electrified sticks and forced to live in their own feces and urine, highlighting the unsanitary conditions of these farms.
Investigation with Público reveals lives of farmed chickens
Animal Equality, along with Ana Pardo de Vera, Chief Editor at Público, released an investigation into a factory farm in Spain documenting the cruelty of the farm's environment and the rapid growth of chickens. Our team visited the same farm during different life stages of the farm’s chickens, revealing the immense suffering these birds go through before slaughter.
Lambs suffer during long transports by land and sea
Animal Equality's investigators have documented the suffering of tens of thousands of lambs as they are shipped from Spain by truck and then forced to travel by sea across long distances. The journeys can last up to ten days until they arrive at Emirates or Egypt, where the animals will be killed while fully conscious.
Wet markets in Asia pose danger to animals and humans
Citing public health and safety, Animal Equality launched a worldwide campaign and petition calling on the United Nations to immediately close all wet markets that sell animals. Not only do these markets pose an immediate danger to humans, but they are also intensely cruel and abhorrently inhumane to animals, as shown by our investigation into wet markets in China, India, and Vietnam.
With My Own Eyes: Rooney Mara joins factory farm investigation
Animal rights activist and actor Rooney Mara joined Animal Equality for an investigation inside two modern farms. The investigation video, narrated by Mara and titled “With My Own Eyes,” reveals how pigs and chickens raised for meat languished in deplorable conditions, and encourages viewers to examine this harsh and painful reality for billions of farmed animals.