Year: 2022

By: Abigail Penny, Animal Equality UK Executive Director

“As good as any bullet.” The words of a farm manager on a UK pig farm as he was filmed hammering pigs to death. 

The exposé by Animal Equality led major supermarkets to promptly ditch the producer, while the owner resigned from his government-appointed chairman role within a major farm assurance scheme.

Yet, unbeknown to many, bludgeoning still occurs for some animal species due to legal ambiguity. While the Animal Welfare Act broadly states that ‘unnecessary suffering’ of animals is not permitted, farmed fish are yet to receive species-specific legal protections in the form of ‘Welfare at the Time of Killing’ regulations, leaving tens of millions of fish unprotected against potentially the most gruesome of

On Monday, December 12th, Animal Equality participated in a Senate session to debate Brazil’s proposed ‘Self-Control’ bill. The organization was joined in opposition of the bill by World Animal Protection, the Institute for Consumer Protection, the National Union of Agricultural and Livestock Fiscal Auditors (ANFFA Sindical), and other animal, environmental and consumer protection organizations.

The debated bill would end the mandatory government inspections of slaughterhouses and allow the meat industry to regulate itself.

Animal Equality has shown through investigations how the absence of slaughterhouse inspectors would allow for humane slaughter and sanitary condition violations. If passed, the bill would subject more than 7 billion animals to cruel slaughter and put public health at risk for food-borne illnesses.

The Executive Director of Animal Equality in Brazil, Carla Lettieri, was present at the debate and spoke about the harm that would be cause if the bill passes.

A criminal gang has been dismantled after authorities found horse meat unfit for human consumption being sold with forged documentation. The Civil Guard in Spain and Europol in Europe helped bring down the gang, with 35 people arrested and six companies investigated for their crimes. These crimes included: animal abuse, affiliation with a criminal organization, money laundering, crimes against public health and document falsification.

The Civil Guard has confirmed in a statement that the documentation, traceability and fitness for consumption of the animals were forged. The meat obtained from the animals was being sold in Spain and exported to countries like Germany, Belgium and Italy.

In the farm used by the gang, 80 horses were found in inhumane conditions. They were subjected to

On Thursday, December 8, Animal Equality, a leading global animal protection group, held a protest on the front lawn of the US Capitol to call for an end to horse slaughter. Around a dozen activists gathered on Capitol Hill holding banners and posters to ask Congress to permanently ban the exportation and slaughter of American horses.

Why did we protest?

This protest is a part of Animal Equality’s pressure to end horse slaughter globally, including the US. The organization recently launched an international campaign against the killing of horses for meat. Over 116,000 supporters have already signed the petition.

In the United States, horse slaughter was essentially banned when the US Government took funding away from the USDA to inspect horse slaughterhouses. Only USDA-approved meat is legal to sell. Those that once profited off of selling their horses for slaughter began to auction them off to facilities in Mexico and

In the United States, federal protections for farmed animals are extremely limited. US Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) hopes to change that with a groundbreaking piece of legislation–the Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act.

Animal Equality is among a coalition of animal protection organizations supporting Senator Booker’s ambitious bill. If passed, the Act would hold high-risk meat, dairy, and egg producers accountable—instead of tax-payers—for its reckless operation in the event of large-scale disasters, among other improvements.

About the Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act

The proposed Industrial Agriculture Accountability Act addresses multiple concerns with how the meat industry operates. The Act includes a decrease in the time animals are allowed

Giving Tuesday started out as a simple idea: a day to encourage people to do good. Over the years, it has grown into a global movement that has inspired people to support the causes they care most about. 

Whether you make a monetary contribution, volunteer your time, or share a petition on social media, every action you can take on Giving Tuesday (November 29, 2022) will make a big difference for animals.

Why Should I Support Animal Equality?

Farmed animals are some of the most forgotten animals. Right now, mother pigs are confined in tiny crates. They are unable to move or nurture their babies.

Chickens are unable to stand under their unnaturally large weight, as farms genetically breed

Animal Equality began investigating in 2006 when co-founders Sharon Núñez, Jose Valle, and Javier Moreno were met by cynics during their protests in Spain. Their opposers didn’t want to believe the cruelty they described was happening inside slaughterhouses. So the team set out with a camera to show them the truth.

As an organization, Animal Equality has since conducted over 820 investigations–128 of which were inside slaughterhouses across ten countries. This extensive footage shows the slaughter of many animals–pigs, cows, chickens, lambs, goats, fish, horses, rabbits, ducks, buffalo, turkeys, dogs and doves–most of which suffer significantly in their final

On Tuesday, October 25, Animal Equality protesters gathered outside of a Bank of America in Austin to demand that they break ties with Compass Group, the food service company that lied to the public when it declared an end to cruel cages for pregnant pigs. About 90% of the pigs it sources and sells still come from pigs locked in a crate so small they cannot turn around.

Compass Group Lied

In July 2022, Animal Equality launched a campaign calling on Compass Group to recommit to banning the use of gestation crates in its supply chain. Instead of fulfilling its 2012 commitment, Compass weakened it again and again and now has no clear path or deadline to stop allowing mother pigs to be locked in crates that are barely bigger than their own bodies.

The campaign, carried out by Animal Equality’s US office, has garnered support in the form of