Impact Report Mid‑year 2024
Dear friend,
We’re halfway through 2024, yet your work for animals has made headlines.
You’re promoting plant‑based public policies in Mexico, and in India, celebrities are engaging with our 21‑Day Plant‑Powered Challenge. Thanks to you, millions of people receive daily information about the importance of switching to plant‑based.
You’ve launched impactful investigations in Mexico, Spain, and Germany. This last one is your most extensive yet. You’ve advanced bills to end cages and ban male chick killing in Brazil. Globally, you’re making strides to ban foie gras in cities and countries, all while campaigning to remove it from the 2024 Olympic Games hospitality menu.
Thank you for being Animal Equality and for ending animal cruelty. Celebrate these achievements—they’re yours!
Sharon Núñez
President
MID-YEAR RESULTS
1.9+ MILLION
ANIMALS
IMPACTED
5
INVESTIGATIONS PRESENTED
5.2+ MILLION
VIEWS OF OUR VIDEOS
154,000+
VOLUNTEERS AROUND THE WORLD
447,000+
PARTICIPANTS IN OUR CAMPAIGNS
587,000+
VISITS TO THE LOVE VEG WEBSITE
338,000+
LOVE VEG SUBSCRIBERS
301,000+
LOVE VEG RECIPE BOOK DOWNLOADS
49,000+
ESTIMATED MEDIA VIEWS OF LOVE VEG
Other recent updates
At the Animal and Vegan Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C., Animal Equality President Sharon Núñez, Vice President for Latin America Dulce Ramírez, and UK Executive Director Abigail Penny delivered speeches.
President Sharon Núñez’s speech was featured on an animal advocacy podcast called How I Learned to Love Shrimp.
Bringing worldwide media attention to animals
765+
MEDIA MENTIONS
16.9+ MILLION
ESTIMATED MEDIA VIEWS
Animal Equality’s work has been highlighted by the following news organizations
Love Veg
Choosing plant‑based meals is the biggest step you can take to end animal suffering on factory farms. Love Veg makes this easy and fun. Our program shares recipes, nutrition advice, and tips to make delicious plant‑based meals available to everyone.
Through the Love Veg program, you’re hosting plant‑based cooking workshops at Mexican community centers. You’ve also partnered with the National System for Integral Family Development (a Mexican public institution) to train community kitchen cooks, school cooks, and mothers in plant‑based eating. These workshops for Dietetics students continue to be a success, allowing them to share these insights with their communities and future patients.
“I’ve discovered healthier, and cruelty-free cooking methods for animals and the environment. The chef provides clear instructions so beginners can replicate them at home.”
— Deyci
Love Veg Workshop attendee
I support Animal Equality because you are on the front lines, recording unimaginable cruelty and bringing these cases to the public. The undercover investigators and everyone at Animal Equality are true heroes.
Patricia Packer
Animal Equality’s supporter
Ending factory farming
Factory farming maximizes meat, egg, and dairy production at a high cost to animals. Hens are caged, piglets are mutilated without anesthesia, and cows are separated from their calves just after birth. These animals face painful deaths in slaughterhouses. Together, we will end factory farming.
Our longest undercover investigation
You published Animal Equality’s longest undercover investigation. It lasted 120 days and revealed violations at one of Germany’s largest pig farms. Animal Equality immediately filed a criminal complaint and launched a petition to improve animal protections and advocate for a plant-based diet.
The investigation aired on a renowned TV program and other important media, reaching over nine million people.
Exposing rabbit slaughter
In Mexico, newly released investigative footage revealed hidden cruelty in Mexico’s rabbit meat industry. Among the findings were overcrowding in cages, slaughter without stunning, and rabbits crying out in desperation before slaughter.
Animal Equality has filed complaints with the relevant authorities based on the findings and is using this footage to encourage people to choose plant‑based.
Holding animal abusers accountable
Animal Equality will appeal the acquittal of the Carrasco brothers, owners of the farm we investigated with Jordi Évole and Salvados in Spain. Despite acknowledging animal abuse, the judge blamed the veterinarian for the 14 animal cruelty charges.
Brazil Without Cages campaign advances
Meanwhile, you’ve advanced the Brazil Without Cages Campaign, which would legally prohibit cages for pigs, hens, and calves. The petition has already reached nearly 50,000 signatures. We recently conducted a leafleting and awareness action with our volunteers.
Legislative efforts
Animal Equality’s extensive research and legislative efforts are highlighted in the Oaxaca State Congress’s new publication, Reality of Slaughterhouses in Mexico: Oaxaca Case. The report confirms what you have exposed: Mexican slaughterhouses frequently operate without proper oversight or protocols.
Ending cages for hens and pigs
To cut costs, farmers confine mother pigs in tiny cages barely larger than their bodies. This leaves them unable to turn around or care for their piglets. While this is illegal in 11 U.S. states and many countries, most of the United States’ 6 million female pigs still suffer in cages.
Hens face similar confinement in small, wire cages. They are unable to spread their wings, and their beaks are trimmed to prevent pecking.
Animal Equality in the U.S. released its Restaurant Report, exposing 13 restaurants failing to remove cages for pregnant pigs in their supply chains. Some restaurants have refused to phase out these cages, while others have abandoned their commitments.
Amid Animal Equality’s campaign against Denny’s, one of the restaurants included in the Restaurant Report, Reuters reported that the chain is facing increasing pressure to phase out crates for pregnant pigs. The article, which has reached over 225,000 estimated views, noted that these “gestation crates” would be a focal point of Denny’s upcoming shareholder vote.
Simultaneously, your campaign against cages in the Aldi US supply chain has gained momentum in Germany, Aldi’s home country. Animal Equality commissioned a truck with transparent walls, placed a gestation crate inside, and toured through major German cities to raise awareness about this practice.
We held several protests at Aldi stores and trade fairs. In the first half of 2024, nearly 1.3 million people learned about this campaign through media reports.
In India, we are collaborating with hotels to eliminate eggs from caged hens. Four Seasons Mumbai has achieved 100% compliance, while St. Regis Mumbai, Westin Goregaon, and Ritz Carlton Bangalore have achieved at least 60%.
Ending the killing of male chicks
Male chicks are deemed worthless by the egg industry because they cannot lay eggs, and they are a different breed than chickens used for meat. They are killed through suffocation, electrocution, or grinding.
Animal Equality advocates for in-ovo sexing technology, which identifies and removes male embryos before hatching. Your efforts will make male chick killing a thing of the past.
Animal Equality in Brazil held a public hearing to bolster two bills we introduced in São Paulo. If approved, these bills will ban the killing of male chicks and calves, impacting over 25 million animals.
Ending force-feeding
Foie gras production involves force-feeding ducks and geese until their livers swell up to ten times their normal size. This process entails repeatedly inserting metal tubes down their throats, causing severe pain, injuries, and death from ruptured organs. California and several countries have banned this cruelty.
Animal Equality has launched a global campaign to remove foie gras made by force‑feeding from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games hospitality menu. Over 75,000 people have signed the petition!
You’re also working at the local level. With the launch of an Animal Equality campaign, hundreds of residents in Ann Arbor, Michigan, have signed a petition urging their city council to enact a foie gras sales ban.
Led by Animal Equality, a bill prohibiting force-feeding in Brazil has already passed two required committees. You’ve intensified the campaign to push for its approval, which already has nearly 230,000 signatures.
In the meantime, the Labour Party in the UK has confirmed that it will ban the importation of foie gras produced by force-feeding due to our campaign and actions from supporters like you.
Animal Equality activists protested simultaneously in five Spanish cities—Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, and Murcia—demanding that El Corte Inglés, the biggest department store group in Europe, remove foie gras from its shelves.
Foie gras is currently being debated in Italian institutions. Following volunteer efforts, 44 parliamentarians addressed our concerns, with many openly backing our campaign to outlaw force-feeding. During a session in May, lawmakers denounced force-feeding and advocated for a ban across Europe.
Ending horse slaughter
Horses are often seen as companions, similar to dogs or cats. But behind closed doors, they are killed for their meat. This raises questions about other hidden animals in the meat industry. Cows, pigs, chickens, and fish are no different—they all suffer and deserve protection. Just like you, we are committed to ending horse slaughter and factory farming altogether.
For the first time in over a decade, Animal Equality’s investigators documented horse slaughter in Spain. Despite low domestic consumption, Spain is Europe’s largest producer and exporter of horse meat. Our recent footage inspires people to leave animals off their plates and supports the campaign to urge the Spanish government and the European Union to ban horse slaughter.
HIS STORY
This is the ear of a horse used for meat. This animal has been reduced to a mere commodity, a number: 11.
He is one of the many horses recorded by Animal Equality’s investigators in Spain. Investigators named him Apollo, and these were his final moments.
Operators led Apollo to the stunning box.
He had sensed the fear of his companions, smelled the blood, and heard the sounds of other animals being killed.
He tried to escape, but he couldn’t.
A slaughterer struck Apollo with a stick to urge him to move.
The box door slammed shut behind him, and the worker placed a stun gun on Apollo’s head.
He pulled the trigger… and Apollo fell.
Another slaughterer tied a chain around him and lifted him off the ground.
With his knife, he cut Apollo’s throat until life faded from his eyes.
His last sight was that of indifferent faces.
Photographs: Animal Equality | Aitor Garmendia
You can help animals
Your support is crucial in our ongoing fight against animal cruelty, whether advocating for legislative change, exposing animal suffering, or inspiring people to choose compassionate lifestyles. Together, we are shaping a future where animals are respected and protected.
