Celebrating victories in animal activism can be hard. For many of us, until every animal is free from human persecution, it feels like the work isn’t done. Yet, it’s crucial to recognize and honor both the progress that has been made for animals and the dedicated efforts behind each success. The world is an extremely hard place for animals (due to how we choose to treat them), so every change—big or small—that eases their suffering deserves to be celebrated.
Live Animal Exports Dying Out
In 2022, the UK finally passed legislation that banned the export of live farmed animals. These grueling journeys, which involve animals being crammed onto trucks for multiple days, cause animals extreme stress and suffering – only for the animals to arrive at their destination and be slaughtered. After 50 long years of tireless campaigning from animal protection groups in the UK, this practice has finally come to an end.
Other countries are also taking steps against this barbaric practice. In 2023, a law came into force in New Zealand which banned the live export of animals by sea—a move which followed the sinking of a ship which killed crew and 6,000 animals. Now, Australia has also passed a bill to ban the live export of sheep. This is hugely significant progress, as more than 160 million sheep have endured punishing journeys from Australia to Asia and the Middle East in the last 60 years.
The End of the Dog Meat Trade
After years of pressure from animal rights groups and shifts in consumer habits, South Korea has finally passed a ban on farming dogs for meat. The law will ban production of dog meat, with prison sentences of up to three years and fines of up to $23,000 for anyone found slaughtering dogs for food. There are currently around half a million dogs farmed for meat in South Korea each year, so the ban, which will come into effect fully after three years, will save hundreds of thousands of dogs from a horrific life of suffering and incarceration. Bans on dog meat have already been enacted in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore.
Fur Farming Goes Out of Fashion
Following a ban passed in 2019, Norway’s last remaining fur farms closed their doors in 2023, two years earlier than planned! Of course, for the millions of animals who died in these horrendous fur operations, it was always going to be too late.
Meanwhile, Lithuania has also passed a law that will see the country’s 40 mink and 30 chinchilla farms close, sparing the lives of approximately one million animals.
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Serbia, Italy, France, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK have also banned fur farming. Israel has become the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur.
Plant-Based Diets Are Blooming
The last ten years have seen a huge rise in the number of people eating plant-based and vegan diets.
- In Germany, sales of plant-based meals rose by 23 percent from 2022 to 2023, with an estimated 10 percent of the population choosing to quit eating animals. Today, 30 percent of Germans identify as flexitarian.
- In Australia, a traditionally meat-eating nation, a report showed that plant-based meat sales increased by 47 percent between 2020 and 2023, and per-capita consumption increased by 28 percent.
- A study of eating habits of New Zealanders found that plant-based diets grew by 19 percent between 2020 and 2021.
- A study found that more than 69 percent of people in the Netherlands eat vegetarian at least once a week. That’s a good start!
- 10 percent of Brits and 12 percent of people in the United States are now vegetarian or vegan.
Cosmetic Testing Coming to an End
10 years ago, the EU took the final step to remove all animal testing for cosmetics. No new cosmetic products that entered the market after 2014, have been tested on animals, putting a complete end to animal testing for cosmetics in Europe. This hard-won moment marked the end of a 34-year campaign that began in 1980, a campaign that has spared thousands of animals from undue pain and suffering.
Altogether, 45 countries have passed laws banning cosmetic animal testing, according to the Humane Society International: every country in the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
CCTV Mandatory in Slaughterhouses
In an effort to crack down on poor practice and deliberately inflicted animal suffering at slaughter, the English, Scottish and Welsh governments all passed laws to force slaughterhouses to install CCTV and to hand over the footage when required by official veterinarians and regulators. Israel and Spain had already made CCTV mandatory for slaughterhouses.
Of course, this does not prevent suffering at slaughter, nor does it justify the killing of sentient beings, but it does deter deliberate abuse by workers and provides evidence for their prosecution.
Opting Out of Global Shark Fin Trade
In 2022, after significant support from 13 states and a number of other corporations and organizations, the buying and selling of shark fins was banned in the USA. The following year, the UK also banned the import and export of shark fins and any product containing them. Many other countries have enacted legislation that goes some way to protecting sharks. The market for their fins is one of the greatest threats sharks face: around 73 million shark fins end up in the global fin trade each year, making these bans a huge victory for sharks.
Research Confirms Major Health Benefits of Plant-Based Diets
Another 10 years of peer-reviewed research continues to reveal that a balanced vegan diet is akin to a superpower when it comes to health (warning, long list incoming). A vegan diet:
- can reduce LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, potentially curtailing atherosclerosis and heart disease
- can significantly reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
- can reduce the progression of prostate cancer and also reduce the risk of the disease returning
- could help ease the symptoms of fibromyalgia
- can help support and maintain good reproductive health
- could be as good for your heart as walking 4,000 extra steps a day
- can significantly reduce the risk of osteoporosis
- is associated with a 25 percent reduced risk of Parkinson’s
- supports great bone health
- can reduce the risk of chronic kidney disease
- could help reduce allergic diseases such as asthma and allergic rhinitis
- can reduce risk of developing moderate to severe Covid-19 infections
- can improve sexual function, urinary health, and hormonal health
- reduces the risk of experiencing sleep apnea
- can reduce your biological age (this one blew our minds as well)
We think that’s a pretty impressive list—here’s to another 10 years of new research!
Worldwide Bans on Foie Gras
In 2014, India banned the sale and production of all foie gras products. While many countries have banned the production of this horrendously cruel product—including Argentina, Australia and all but 5 of the EU countries—India is the only country to date to ban imports and sales. We applaud the efforts of animal rights groups and consumers who have taken action against such cruelty.
Governments Enshrine Animal Sentience in Their Constitutions
We know that animals are sentient and yet most countries have not recognized this or taken it into account when legislating. Campaigners are closing that gap by ensuring sentience is enshrined in national constitutions. The latest country to do so is Belgium, which is the sixth EU Member State to take this important step, and also joins Switzerland, Egypt, Brazil, India and the UK.
This recognition is a big deal for animals, as any new legislation regarding their welfare must legally comply with the constitution, hopefully securing more conclusive protection for animals in the future.
Endangered Species Protections and Introductions
Despite continued losses of endangered species across the world, there have also been many success stories for endangered species in the last ten years. Here are a few of the standout victories for wild animals.
- Anti-poaching measures in Assam, Northern India, have led to an 86 percent reduction in poaching of endangered species like the one-horned Asian Rhino since 2016. There are now over 3,000 one-horned rhinos in Assam, a jump from only 600 in the 1960s.
- In 2020, China passed a complete ban on the consumption and farming of wild animals. This law was largely a response to the Covid 19 pandemic, but it still represents a critical step in protecting vulnerable free-living species in one of the world’s largest countries.
- The UK has experienced a beaver baby boom! Despite being extinct in the country for 400 years, there are now around 1,500 beavers in Scotland and England.
- In the United States, several environmental groups secured protections for endangered species, including the gray wolf and the North Atlantic right whale, helping ensure their continued survival.
Chimpanzees Retired from Abuse in Labs
In 2015, The National Institutes of Health said that it would no longer support biomedical research on chimpanzees and that all the animals in its labs could be retired to sanctuaries.
This was a huge victory for Humane Society International and other campaigners who worked tirelessly to end this cruel, outdated, and unnecessary practice.
And it means that the US has joined Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, and the European Union in banning or severely limiting experiments on chimpanzees.
Cage Bans Keep Coming
In 2023, the US Supreme Court upheld California’s Proposition 12, which bans the sale of eggs, pork, and veal from caged animals and their offspring. Pork producers challenged the proposition, claiming it was unconstitutional, but they failed. This victory is significant, as it sends a clear message to the industrial factory farming machine that the courts do not condone the imprisoning of sentient animals in cages. This ruling also protects seven other similar state laws and once implemented, will require around 80 million hens and 700,000 pigs to be raised cage-free.
Around the world, there have been other bans on cages, most often relating to the imprisonment of hens farmed for their egg-laying capabilities. Luxembourg, Austria, and Israel have all banned cages for hens, while Scotland, Germany and the Czech Republic have announced bans. In Sweden and some states in India, cages (often referred to as “crates”) for pigs are banned.
The European Union had planned to ban all cages for all farmed animals by 2027 but “ferocious pushback” by farming lobbyists has delayed this important progress.
Progress for Cultured Meat
In the last decade, lab-grown meat products were approved for sale in Singapore, Israel, and the U.S. This is a massive step towards the normalization of a product that could save the lives of billions of farmed animals and be a key tool in fighting climate change.
Other encouraging signs for cultured meat tech came in 2023 when Japan, Germany, Spain, and the UK collectively pledged significant investment towards research and support for the industry. Additionally, 2023 saw the Netherlands become the first EU country to approve commercial tastings of cultured meat. The UK has also announced plans to explore the use of lab-grown meat in pet food, which could save countless animals’ lives and have a profound impact on the country’s carbon footprint.
While progress has been slower than expected for lab-grown meat, major economies like the USA showing their support for the product, is an encouraging sign.
Denmark Leads the Way in Taxing Agricultural Emissions
Denmark is a major producer of dairy and pig meat products. Millions of cows and pigs are farmed which is why their agricultural industry is responsible for a quarter of their greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, that industry has continued to receive subsidies and does not pay for the environmental impact it causes.
Now, dairy farmers in Denmark will pay an annual tax of 672 krone ($96) per cow for the emissions they generate. This world-first tax on agricultural emissions includes a roadmap for integrating more environmentally friendly plant-based foods into society. With the climate crisis already upon us, it is crucial that more countries take action like this and start to break Big Ag’s grip on our damaging food system.
Wild Animals Banned in Circuses
All around the world, the use of wild animals in circuses is being banned. Mexico, Peru, Paraguay, Singapore, Columbia, India, Costa Rica, Armenia, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Norway, and many other countries have banned the use of wild animals in circuses.
And some countries have gone even further. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Slovenia, Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia have banned the use of all animals in circuses.
The abuse of animals in circuses is well documented and for wild animals, life in a cage and being let out only when forced to perform is clearly unacceptable. We welcome these important bans and celebrate all those who worked so hard to bring them about.
Conclusion
Thanks to the work of campaigners, activists, animal lawyers and ethical politicians, it’s been a progressive ten years for animals. There are more vegans on earth than ever before, animal sentience is beginning to be recognised by governments, and new laws are starting to work for animals instead of against them. While these victories reflect a significant shift in our collective attitudes and actions, there remains, of course, an urgent need for further widespread change.
But today we take stock of how far we have come and celebrate these important milestones. We take hope and courage from the achievements of the last decade, as we work towards a day where every animal may live free from human-inflicted suffering.
