Category: Animals

Animal Equality has launched an international campaign to end the slaughter of horses for humane consumption.

This is an industry that has been marred by public health and animal abuse scandals. Yet consumers have very little information about this practice. With this campaign, Animal Equality is raising public awareness about the reality of this trade and the need to ban the slaughter of American horses permanently. 

Animal Equality has investigated the slaughter of horses in Mexico–as well as in Italy and Spain—finding that these animals were often killed while conscious. These horses unnecessarily and unjustifiably suffer.

While 85% of US citizens oppose the slaughter of horses,¹ most people don’t realize American horses are still being killed for their meat in Mexico and Canada.

The slaughter of horses in the US occurred as recently as 2007.² The practice has since dissolved when Congress took away funding from USDA inspectors

In a new two-part investigation by Animal Equality, investigators film proof of American horses being held at a slaughterhouse in Zacatecas, Mexico. A secondary investigation reveals the slaughter of horses in Mexico for the first time.

This investigation comes a month after Animal Equality released an international campaign to end horse slaughter. Nearly 100,000 supporters around the world have signed the petition to end this practice.

Though the US does not slaughter horses within its borders, 24,000 of these animals are sent to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada to be killed and sold as meat. The evidence collected by Animal Equality is proof of an ongoing practice that 83% of Americans oppose,¹ and reveals the cruelty these sensitive animals could face inside Mexican slaughterhouses.

Evidence of US Horses Used for Meat

During Animal Equality’s investigation in Zacatecas, Mexico, investigators recorded horses being held in a corral of the “Cárnicas

On Saturday, October 8th, two activists were found not guilty on all counts after a weeklong trial in Washington County, Utah.  Wayne Hsiung and Paul Darwin Picklesimer of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) were accused of burglary and theft after removing two sick pigs from a Smithfield Foods farm. The pair were facing a total of five and a half years each.

Smithfield Foods Farm Investigation & Rescue

Hsiung and Picklessimer, along with other members of the international animal activists network, DxE, investigated Smithfield Foods Circle Four Farms in Milford, Utah. The investigation took place over the course of a year from 2017-2018. 

Smithfield Foods is the largest producer of meat from pigs in the United States, producing one-fourth of all pig products. The company is owned by WH Group in China, the largest

At Animal Equality, we are dedicated to creating a world in which all animals are respected and protected. But how can we protect them if we don’t have accurate data on the raising and killing of animals for human consumption? Animal Equality in Mexico has created an effective solution that will give a voice to farmed animals with the support of the Tiny Beam Fund.

Our team in Mexico has developed a dashboard that indicates the number of hens used for eggs and chickens used for meat with greater precision. It includes the animals that die before even making it to slaughter, who are typically not considered in slaughter statistics.

The Issue: The Need for Accurate Data on Animal Suffering

Today, November 1st, the world’s largest food service provider, Compass Group, confirms its commitment to eliminate gestation crates for pigs in its US supply chain by Summer 2023. This becomes one of the strongest animal welfare policies in the food sector and comes a few short months after Animal Equality launched a strong campaign against Compass Group and a week after the organization protested outside of Bank of America, a client of Compass, in Austin, TX. 

Compass Group will transition to end gestation crates in the US by Summer 2023. The company will provide regular updates on this progress. The policy also includes meaningful protections for chickens raised and killed for meat and a commitment to exclusively use eggs from hens not confined to cages.

With this new commitment, Animal Equality recognizes and appreciates Compass Group’s progress in making meaningful improvements for animals in its supply chain, which will impact

Animal Equality has filed a brief in support of a legal challenge to Diestel Turkey Ranch’s misleading advertising. The lawsuit was filed against Diestel Turkey Ranch in California state court for claims of false advertising. The company raises and slaughters turkeys in California and supplies retailers like Whole Foods.¹

Claims of False Advertising

Diestel Turkey Ranch advertises its products as “thoughtfully raised” on a “family farm.” However, as the case documents assert, these turkeys are raised in “deplorable conditions.” Diestel Turkey Ranch was found to house its turkeys in dirty, crowded warehouses during a 2015 undercover investigation by Direct Action Everywhere, an animal protection organization. Many animals were suffering from untreated injuries and illnesses.¹ 

On its website, Diestel Turkey Ranch further claims adherence to the Global Animal Partnership (GAP) animal welfare criteria. GAP claims to have comprehensive standards focused on animal care and welfare. But the legal suit

Animal Equality UK, along with The Animal Law Foundation, has released a groundbreaking report investigating the shortcomings in how current UK animal protection laws are being monitored and enforced. The comprehensive report, which was published exclusively by The Guardian, sheds light on what existing animal protection laws are in place, how these laws are monitored, and what happens when they are violated. What we found was evidence of what has been named ‘The Enforcement Problem.’

Since 2006, Animal Equality has investigated over 820 factory farms and slaughterhouses. The hundreds of hours of footage captured show the majority of farms breaking animal welfare laws without serious consequences.

Animal Equality’s investigations have exposed:

• Pigs routinely have their tails cut off without pain relief
• Cows on dairy farms are barely able to walk because they are forced to walk back and forth on concrete floors all day, carrying unnaturally high volumes of

Every year, over 30,000 horses are sent by the US to Mexico and Canada for slaughter. They are crammed onto transport trucks without food or water for over 24 hours. They arrive at the slaughterhouse scared and covered in injuries caused by stressed animals biting and kicking to show dominance. Once inside, they are often slaughtered while conscious due to ineffective stunning.

The majority of Americans disagree with the consumption of meat from horses. Yet there is currently no permanent federal ban on the exportation or slaughter of American horses.

Just a few weeks ago, Animal Equality released a campaign to end this hypocrisy and abuse. Over 80,000 supporters signed our international petition—with our US supporters asking the Government to place a