OUR HISTORY

15 YEARS OF CHANGING THE WORLD FOR ANIMALS


Since its foundation in 2006, thousands of people have come together to change and save lives. From a handful of committed activists to a global team of thousands with offices in eight countries, we have come a long way. Here is a summary of Animal Equality’s work in the last 15 years.

2022

OCTOBER

Animal Equality has investigated the slaughter of horses for their meat in Mexico, Spain and Italy. These investigations showed the unnecessary suffering of these animals who are often killed while conscious. Over 4.3 million horses are consumed by humans around the world every year. Now we are demanding a ban on the transport and slaughter of these sensitive animals.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality has continued its efforts against Compass Group, the world’s largest food service provider, with a protest in Austin, Texas. Around a dozen supporters gathered outside of Bank of America–a client of Compass–to call on the company to use its influence and hold Compass accountable. Ten years ago, Compass Group promised to end the use of cages for mother pigs during their pregnancy but later abandoned that promise. Animal Equality launched a campaign against the company in July to demand it keeps its commitment to pigs and its consumers.

OCTOBER

In January 2022, the German Government banned the killing of male chicks in hatcheries. Although it is a good step towards preventing the suffering and killing of these animals, some companies now raise those male chicks during weeks and then kill them for meat production. Animal Equality in Germany demands the amendment of the existing law to prevent this from happening and spare millions of chickens.

OCTOBER

Together with more than twenty European animal protection organizations, Animal Equality is campaigning against LIDL. We are calling on the grocery store chain to eliminate overbreeding and the lack of daylight, space for chickens in their supply chain.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality met at São Paulo’s State Assembly alongside several animal, environmental, and human health protection organizations. The public hearing was organized by Animal Equality with the support of State Representative Carlos Giannazi. The organizations met in opposition of Brazil’s ‘Self-Control’ Bill to discuss their concerns of the harmful initiative.

SEPTEMBER

RIU Hotels & Resorts has made a public commitment to ensure that 100% of the eggs consumed in all its hotels and in all its products come from cage-free hens by the end of 2025. As one of the most important hotel chains in the world–with hotels in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia–this commitment will improve the lives of more than 375,000 hens each year.

SEPTEMBER

The Spanish Government now requires slaughterhouses to install video surveillance cameras. More than 700 such facilities across Spain will have to install video CCTV cameras. The Decree gives the operators themselves the authority to monitor their own actions. Animal Equality values positively the approval of this decree but considers it to be insufficient until independent parties have access to review the footage.

SEPTEMBER

TORIDOLL Holdings Corporation, one of the world’s largest restaurant companies based in Japan, has released a policy pledging to source 100 percent cage-free eggs and egg products for its restaurant locations worldwide. This is the largest cage-free commitment from a Japanese-multinational corporation to date. The commitment follows collaboration between Toridoll and the Open Wing Alliance, a global coalition of more than 90 major animal protection organizations across 63 countries, including Animal Equality.

AUGUST

In a historic achievement for animals promoted by Animal Equality, Italy has passed a law banning the killing of day-old male chicks in the egg industry. The industry must implement measures by 2026 to comply with the law. The new law will impact the lives of 25-40 million animals annually.

JULY

Animal Equality in India released an undercover investigation outside a dairy farm in Paglahat Village near Kolkata. The investigation revealed workers abusing a female buffalo as they attempted to load her onto a transport truck. The images captured showed them beating and twisting her tail to cause pain, violently and repeatedly pushing a stick into her genitals, causing bleeding wounds, and pouring water over her nose and mouth to make her feel like she was drowning. Animal Equality submitted evidence of this incident to the Animal Welfare Board of India, which filed a complaint with the Kolkata Police. Animal Equality has denounced these crimes and calls for the workers to be prosecuted.

JULY

Animal Equality in Mexico introduced an initiative to recognize the sentience of animals in the Political Constitution of Nuevo León, Mexico. This recognition will be essential for protecting all species in Nuevo León, where more than 42 million animals are killed for their meat.

JULY

After negotiations with Animal Equality, Mantiqueira—South America's largest egg farm —was the first Latin American company to commit not to buy female chicks from hatcheries that practice chick killing. This is an important step for hatcheries interested in using new technology that can determine the sex of the chick before it hatches.

JULY

Animal Equality is prosecuting the owners from “the farm of horrors” in Spain, where we recorded with the television program Salvados, pigs suffering from large hernias, deformation, dead pigs, and cannibalism. We’re imposing a 3-year prison sentence and nine years of being prohibited from working in any animal-related profession for each defendant.

JUNE

Animal Equality released an investigation inside three Brazilian slaughterhouses following the Senate’s initial approval for a bill reducing government oversight and giving companies the power to conduct their own inspections. Our investigation revealed employees kicking animals, killing them while still conscious, dragging them with ropes, and twisting their tails to inflict pain. We’ve requested Senators to postpone the voting and hold a new public hearing so that the voices of animal advocates can be heard.

JUNE

Animal Equality – together with their supporters – is calling on companies and legislators to change their policies and implement laws to protect animals and end factory farming.

JUNE

Animal Equality filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Stanislaus County against Foster Farms, a West Coast poultry company that specializes in chicken and turkey products. The suit follows Animal Equality’s findings after an undercover investigation revealed baby chicks being crushed, drowned and mutilated at a Foster Farms’ hatchery, Ellenwood Hatchery, located in Waterford, CA.

JUNE

The Congress of the State of Hidalgo unanimously approved the initiative promoted by Animal Equality to reform the Law for the Protection and Dignified Treatment of Animals and the Criminal Code of Hidalgo. Acts of cruelty to animals, including farmed animals, are now considered crimes punished with prison sentences of up to 4 years. Nearly 50 million cows, pigs, hens, chickens, and other animals raised on factory farms and killed in slaughterhouses in Hidalgo will now be more protected from abuse. Hidalgo is now the first state in Mexico to protect farmed animals in law.

MAY

The EU for Animals campaign, calling for an EU Animal Welfare Commissioner, was promoted by Animal Equality and over 40 animal protection organizations. The campaign has received more than 169,000 public signatures and has been signed by 127 members of the European Parliament of all political groups. If the initiative is passed, the Commissioner's responsibility would become “Health, Food Safety, and Animal Welfare.”

APRIL

Animal Equality introduced a bill in Mexico to recognize all animals with a complex nervous system as sentient beings with welfare protections under the law. If the bill is approved, the initiative will amend article four of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States and ensure animal protection.

MARCH

Animal Equality released an investigation into a pig farm in Jalisco, Mexico where our investigators uncovered the painful mutilations that pigs endure shortly after birth. The images we uncovered show piglets being castrated or having their tails cut without anesthesia. The investigation was covered by some of the most important media in the country and helped educate millions of people on the implications of meat consumption and encourage them to reduce or eliminate meat from their plates.

MARCH

Animal Equality investigators in Italy infiltrated a chicken factory farm to collect the bodies of seven birds who had died there. Specialized veterinarians who analyzed them, found that fast-growing chicks reach up to six pounds in just seven weeks and suffer from numerous health conditions like pneumonia, heart attacks, and respiratory diseases. Animal Equality is demanding that the Italian Government, the Minister of Health, and the Minister for Agricultural Policies prohibit breeding animals genetically selected to grow so large and so fast that they spend their entire lives suffering

FEBRUARY

An Animal Equality undercover investigation inside Madox Farm, a dairy farm in Carmarthenshire, South Wales revealed workers kicking and punching cows in the face and stomach, twisting their tails, and hitting them with sharp metal shovels. In one instance, a pregnant cow was left to suffer and die after her baby died inside of her despite a veterinarian's recommendation for prompt euthanasia. The footage aired on BBC One’s Panorama, one of the country’s biggest television programs, and was seen by millions of viewers. Animal Equality is calling for the farm to be prosecuted and held accountable for its crimes.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality launched a US campaign calling for a complete ban on the sale and production of foie gras. Foie gras, one of the cruelest foods on the market, is made by force-feeding ducks and geese to induce fatty liver disease. Forced-feeding can cause difficulty standing and walking, damage to the bird's esophagus, difficulty breathing, and heart or kidney failure. Our work with state and local legislation is ongoing as we advance toward a permanent ban in the United States.
2021

DECEMBER

A new undercover investigation by Animal Equality reveals shocking violations of animal cruelty laws in a major U.S. hatchery. Hours old chicks are routinely crushed and mutilated by high-speed automated processing machinery and left to suffer and die of their injuries. Chicks often drown, are scalded to death and left to languish on the facility floor or in discarded waste before they are sent to be ground up alive. Animal Equality is seeking justice for these crimes by demanding that charges be filed against Foster Farms for their serious violations of California’s animal cruelty laws.

DECEMBER

The Italian Parliament voted and approved the amendment that introduces a ban on the selective culling of male chicks by December 2026. Animal Equality launched a campaign in 2020 against male chick culling in the egg industry, which has been signed by more than 110,000 people asking the government and industry to put an end to this terrible practice. Thanks to this work and the support by Italian officials, this ban will spare 25-40 million male chicks each year in Italy.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality infiltrated tilapia farms in Mexico for the first time and uncovered the suffering these animals face at the hands of aquaculture due to the lack of laws protecting them from cruelty. In addition to the deplorable hygienic and sanitary conditions in which the fish are forced to live in the farms investigated, it is common practice in the industry for them to be killed without being stunned. Animal Equality is working to educate consumers and increase protections for fish.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality has uncovered acts of cruelty committed against pigs at the 22nd slaughterhouse investigated in Mexico, this time at the Rastro Municipal Regional in Tizayuca, Hidalgo. With the footage compiled by our investigators, we filed three complaints with the proper authorities: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Government of Mexico, the State Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection of the Government of Hidalgo, and the Ministry of Health of the Government of Hidalgo, demanding that the acts of cruelty be sanctioned and eradicated.

OCTOBER

In Spain in 2020, 906 million land animals were slaughtered, including cows, pigs, chickens, lambs, goats, rabbits and horses. Investigations carried out by Animal Equality over the last fifteen years have documented how many of them are killed while fully conscious, causing them completely avoidable suffering. Animal Equality urges that 7 legal modifications be made to prevent these events from occurring, including exceptions to legal obligations, gaps in legislation and bad practices in the country’s slaughterhouses which result in excess suffering.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality joined the Open Wing Alliance, a coalition of over 75 organizations, to launch a global cage-free campaign for Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill. Animal Equality led protests in Italy and Spain and did digital actions around the globe. After 4 months of campaigning, Yum! Brands released its global cage-free policy that will cover at least 26,000 locations by 2026 and all locations by 2030. This is the largest cage-free policy that has ever been published and the policy will have major impacts in Asia where the cage-free work is still very new. We estimate this policy will impact up to 25 million hens!

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality launches an international campaign that exposes the ever-expanding and unregulated meat industry in Brazil as the main cause of the country’s extensive environmental destruction and some of the worst abuses against its animals. This devastation and suffering is a direct result of the illegal fires and deforestation in the Pantanal wetlands and Cerrado savannas.

AUGUST

Subway announces the commitment to improve chicken welfare in its European supply chain by publicly committing to the European Chicken Commitment (ECC). This was not an easy feat, it took 22 non-profit organizations from 16 European countries and 1.5 years of campaigning to push the company to this end. Animal Equality played a major role in this campaign along with other coalition members of the Open Wing Alliance. We sent campaigners to Amsterdam to protest and attempted to meet with Subway’s leadership, held protests in Italy, Spain, and the UK, and activated our social media networks where thousands of animal advocates from all around the world took part in highly impactful digital actions.

AUGUST

Animal Equality investigates Simmons Farm Raised Catfish slaughterhouse, located in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Simmons is one of the largest USDA inspected catfish slaughterhouses in the U.S., supplying grocery stores Kroger, Save a Lot, and Piggly Wiggly, as well as restaurant chains Cracker Barrel and Captain D’s. Our investigative team found numerous instances of animal abuse and suffering—incidents that are in violation of existing state animal cruelty laws. We're now demanding that Kroger Kroger drop Simmons Farm Raised Catfish.

JULY

In a rare behind-the-scenes look at a common egg industry practice, Animal Equality releases an investigation into the forced fasting of hens to increase their egg production, a cruel practice called “forced molting.” The investigation took place in Mexico’s top egg-producing state, Jalisco. In concert with this investigation, we presented an initiative in the Congress of Jalisco that calls for a ban on forced molting, which deprives hens of water and food for 7-14 days, during which the hens will lose their feathers and stop laying eggs in order to accelerate a new cycle of egg production.

JULY

In a historic move for animal protection, Puebla, Mexico voted to pass a law that will criminalize unregulated slaughterhouses (also known as “backyard” or “underground” slaughterhouses) and slaughter at live animal markets. The new law, which was passed after Animal Equality in Mexico participated in talks with various agencies of the Government of Puebla, will also make it illegal for land animals in the state to be slaughtered without prior stunning.

JULY

Animal Equality releases an investigation documenting suffering and abuse on a pig farm in Lombardy, Italy, affiliated with the Bompieri Group, whose products are known through a marketing slogan to be the “Excellence of Made in Italy.” The investigation—carried out in collaboration with local Italian television—reveals poor and unsanitary living conditions, as well as sewage spills that could put the surrounding environment at risk.

JUNE

After years of campaigning by animal protection groups, including Animal Equality, the European Commission agrees to “put forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out and finally prohibit the use of cages for all the animal species and categories referred to in the [End the Cage Age] initiative.” This legislation will include commonly caged animals chickens, rabbits, and ducks, as well as female pigs confined in farrowing and gestation crates, calves used by the dairy industry, and other farmed animals.

JUNE

Animal Equality’s campaign to ban live animal markets wins Eurogroup’s #Campaign4Animals 2020 Award. The award was created and promoted by Eurogroup for Animals—a pan-European animal advocacy organization, comprising 77 member organizations, whose key focus is to improve the wellbeing of as many animals as possible through effective legal advocacy and public awareness work. The campaign was highlighted for its tremendous impact on animals, as well as how it responded to the COVID-19 crisis and mobilized supporters.

JUNE

Animal Equality presents over half a million signatures to the United Nations (U.N.) along with a petition that called for the end of the sale of live animals at the world’s wet markets. In addition, letters were delivered calling on the governing body to publicly acknowledge the risks live animal sales pose to global health and urging policymakers all over the world to restrict wet markets from selling live animals.

JUNE

Animal Equality releases an investigation documenting what happens to pigs inside an Italian slaughterhouse, revealing the terrible cruelty that animals endure within these places. The investigation was filmed at Zema Srl slaughterhouse located in the province of Cremona—a facility known for its “quality” products, as well as being a representative company of “Made in Italy” marketing, both in Italy and abroad.

JUNE

Thanks to the work of Animal Equality, as well as other animal protection groups, Nevada announces it will become the 9th state in the U.S. to ban cages for hens, joining Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The bill not only bans the caging of hens in Nevada but also requires eggs sold in the state to be from cage-free facilities, no matter where the eggs were produced.

MAY

In Brazil, Animal Equality releases an investigation into the country’s meat industry and its practice of slaughtering pregnant cows. An accompanying public petition asks Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture to forbid the killings of these pregnant animals. About half of the cows slaughtered in Brazil are females, and when they are pregnant, it presents intense suffering for both the cows and their calves.

APRIL

Animal Equality UK releases a disturbing investigation showing animal suffering filmed at P&G Sleigh Pig Unit in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The footage shows very troubling scenes as well as a number of serious legal violations, with one expert describing the incidents as “some of the most disturbing" he's ever seen. The farm, which is owned by senior pig industry figure, Philip Sleigh, is labeled in the U.K. as “quality assured.”

APRIL

A new report produced by Animal Equality Mexico details the alarming impact animal farming has on the environment. The report follows the 2020 release of the short documentary, Enemy of the Planet, and shows the visible ecological damage due to animal agriculture in Jalisco. Faced with this overwhelming evidence, Animal Equality filed 44 complaints with local authorities and called for the facilities to be shut down.

MARCH

Animal Equality launches a national campaign in the U.S to ban the egg industry's routine killing of baby chicks. Chick culling is a practice used by egg producers in which male chicks are killed the day they are born because they are not considered profitable by the industry. In the U.S. alone, around 300 million male chicks are killed each year. This means over 34,000 freshly hatched chicks die every hour. In just a few days, the petition calling for national ban nets thousands of signatures.

MARCH

In response to thousands of cows and calves being stranded on the Mediterranean Sea for many months, Animal Equality Spain holds numerous demonstrations to protest the cruelty of live animal transport, which causes animals immense pain and suffering. Usually done without food or water, animals are shuttled across long distances by truck and boat, with many perishing along the way. Animals who die at sea usually end up being tossed into the water, with some even falling in while still alive.

FEBRUARY

In India, Animal Equality exposes the abuses and crimes of the country's fishery and aquaculture sector and shows the inefficient use of precious resources, like water and land. The investigation included footage from several fish and shrimp farms, hatcheries, and fish markets, shot over a year's time in multiple Indian states.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality brought to light distressing scenes from a “farm of horrors” located in Catalonia, Spain, where the highest concentration of intensive pig farms are located. The investigation’s footage shows the farm’s non-compliance with Spanish regulations for the protection of pigs in the country, with evidence found of sanitation irregularities, animal abuse, and possible environmental crimes.

FEBRUARY

In collaboration with Italian television, Animal Equality releases a new investigation that reveals the cruel reality for pigs bred for meat in Northern Italy—a region that markets its products with the stamp of the “excellence of Made in Italy.” The area also affected by pollution and sewage spills related to the massive presence of intensive farming.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality releases undercover footage from a slaughter facility operated by The Scottish Salmon Company, a supplier of major UK supermarkets, as well as numerous international retailers, including in the US. The pioneering footage, shot by an undercover investigator, is the first of its kind to be released in the UK and shows the brutal nature in which farmed salmon are killed.

JANUARY

Animal Equality and Champion Petfoods resolve certain legal claims, filed by Animal Equality in 2020 in D.C. Superior Court, related to the pet food company’s marketing of the rainbow trout in its products. The company corrected ‘wild-caught’ marketing claims on its website and agreed to provide additional transparency regarding its fish sourcing practices.
2020

DECEMBER

Animal Equality publishes harrowing footage of chickens suffering on a German farm used by the country’s largest chicken producer, Wiesenhof. The material was leaked to Animal Equality and in turn, we filed a complaint against the farm with relevant German authorities.

DECEMBER

In honor of International Animal Rights Day, Animal Equality releases 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.

DECEMBER

Following a campaign by Animal Equality Italy, Assoavi, the trade association that represents major egg producers in the country, commits to working to eliminate the routine mass culling of male chicks in the egg industry.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality releases a new investigation into India's chicken production industry, detailing numerous animal welfare and food safety violations.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality, along with five other nonprofits, files a formal complaint against agribusiness giant Cargill, Inc., for unlawfully marketing certain turkey products. The complaint, filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), focuses on certain representations Cargill makes about its turkey products sold under the brand names ‘Shady Brook Farms’ and ‘Honeysuckle White.’

NOVEMBER

Nine months after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, Animal Equality releases a new investigation that shows China’s wet markets are still in operation. The footage was filmed in China in May 2020, with the help of local activists, and reveals that despite the pandemic, live animal markets continue to sell exotic animals, bringing together species that in nature would never live together.

OCTOBER

In collaboration with The Daily Mail, the UK’s most widely read newspaper, Animal Equality UK releases a new investigation with distressing scenes of animal suffering covertly filmed inside Kinswood Eggs, an egg farm in West Sussex, England. The farm, which supplies a number of UK wholesalers and local catering companies, confines around 320,000 hens who lay a staggering 72 million eggs every single year.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality Spain releases a new investigation that depicts the brutality and mistreatment suffered by animals exported from Spain during transport and slaughter. The investigation, carried out by Animals International and Animal Welfare Foundation, and in collaboration with Animal Equality and Compassion in World Farming, reveals the enormous suffering of live animals during their transport from Spain, as well as the cruelty of their killing in the slaughterhouses of Lebanon.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality launches a campaign targeting meal service companies Gooble, Home Chef, and Yumble for their lack of a public commitment to higher animal welfare in their chicken supply chains. The campaign includes petitions calling on company executives to take animal welfare seriously by making a public commitment to higher animal protection standards that would reduce the suffering of potentially millions of chickens killed for their menu items.

AUGUST

Animal Equality, as part of a coalition, files an emergency petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prevent COVID-19 relief funds, resources, and any other forms of support from facilitating or compensating for the costs of ventilation shutdown or water-based foam “depopulation” — the mass killing of animals on factory farms.

AUGUST

Animal Equality releases distressing scenes of severe animal suffering on eight UK chicken farms, with undercover filming revealing hundreds of birds suffering agonizing deaths each day. Some of the farms are operated by Moy Park, one of the UK’s largest chicken producers and a known supplier of McDonald’s, as well as to UK supermarkets such as Tesco and Ocado. The investigation was featured as an exclusive in The Independent.

AUGUST

In an effort to denounce the serious environmental risks caused by pig farms in Mexico, Animal Equality releases a short investigative documentary titled Enemy of the Planet. The film showcases footage taken by drones that flew over two industrial pig farms in Jalisco, with the goal of publicizing the damage caused by industrial livestock farming.

JULY

In footage captured by Animal Equality investigators in Brazil, animals raised for human consumption are shown being treated cruelly on industrial farms in Brazil. The investigation, with a version narrated in Portuguese by Brazilian actress Ellen Jabour, shows pigs being abused and exposes the unsanitary conditions of industrial pig farms.

JULY

Thanks to the work of Animal Equality Mexico, a new animal protection regulation has been approved by the Government Council of Zapopan, Mexico that establishes protections for farmed animals and criminalizes farmed animal cruelty.

JUNE

Animal Equality, along with Spanish online newspaper Público, releases an investigation into a factory farm in Spain that documents the cruelty of the environment and rapid growth that chickens suffer for Spanish meat production.

MAY

Animal Equality’s corporate outreach work in Spain has led to a decreased percentage of caged hens, with a new report showing that 77% of hens were caged in 2019, compared to 93% in 2017 when the team’s work began.

MAY

A new investigation into live transport from Animal Equality Spain shows the pain and torment of lambs as they are shipped to countries without animal protections to be violently slaughtered without stunning.

APRIL

In a historic move, Animal Equality presents two groundbreaking legislative initiatives in Mexico: One to ban the sale of live animals in the country’s markets and another to mandate the closure of all illegal slaughterhouses, as well as prosecute those who operate the underground facilities.

APRIL

Footage from Animal Equality’s investigative work into Asia’s wet markets is featured on CBS’ news program 60 Minutes, reaching over 9 million viewers, nationwide.

APRIL

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Animal Equality launches an international campaign to ban wet markets across the world, with a petition addressed to the United Nations eclipsing 450K signatures in just a few weeks.

MARCH

After Joaquin Phoenix's stirring speech at the 2020 Academy Awards, during which he brought attention to the plight of dairy cows and calves, Animal Equality purchases a billboard in Hollywood to further shine a light on the horrors of the dairy industry.

FEBRUARY

Joaquin Phoenix joins Animal Equality for a protest in London in advance of the 73rd BAFTA awards for a daring action to draw attention to animal agriculture being a leading cause of climate change.

FEBRUARY

A new investigation from Animal Equality reveals thousands of animals were again mutilated and slaughtered at a 2020 Gadhimai festival event.

JANUARY

Animal Equality Germany’s newly formed corporate outreach team records its first success, with its work leading to French restaurant conglomerate Grouple Le Duff and its German subsidiary Kamps to join the European Chicken Commitment.
2019

DECEMBER

Animal rights activist and actress Rooney Mara joins Animal Equality for an investigation called “With My Own Eyes,” going inside two factory farms to reveal animals living in horrific conditions.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality works with local authorities to end animal sacrifice at the Gadhimai festival, where every five years tens of thousands of animals are violently transported and brutally killed during the two-day event held in Southern Nepal.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality releases its second investigation of 2019 in Mexico, focusing on the country’s illegal backyard slaughterhouses and bringing to light the cruel treatment and slaughter of lambs and sheep.

NOVEMBER

An investigation from Animal Equality filmed inside a British sheep slaughterhouse is released and details unimaginable cruelty and immense suffering at Farmers Fresh Wales, a supplier for customers in the U.K. and across continental Europe.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality releases a new investigation which documents the horrors of buffalo mozzarella production in Italy, showing intense suffering including male buffalos left to die of hunger and thirst after being torn from their mothers.

OCTOBER

After devastating fires set by cattle farmers destroyed large areas of the Amazon Rainforest, Animal Equality sent investigators to Northern Brazil to document the area’s increased deforestation and the connection to animal agriculture.

SEPTEMBER

With Just Salad announcing a commitment to use only cage-free eggs by 2024, our U.S. corporate outreach department has now secured 6 total commitments from major corporations in 2019. Thanks to our work, Just Salad joins Dennys, Sun Basket, Blue Sushi, Legends Hospitality, and &pizza in adopting policies that eliminate some of the cruelest farming practices.

AUGUST

Animal Equality Italy releases a horrifying new video with scenes shot inside an Italian slaughterhouse showing the brutal killing of pigs. As a result, a petition circulates to obtain, among other things, the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in Italian slaughterhouses. The petition generates over 140,000 signatures in just a few weeks.

AUGUST

In collaboration with other animal protection organizations, Animal Equality files an amicus brief in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in support of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s false-advertising lawsuit against Hormel Foods, which alleges the company is misleading consumers through deceptive marketing.

JULY

In collaboration with Italy’s national media outlet, Tg2, Animal Equality publishes an investigation exposing atrocities inside a Northern Italy pig farm.

JULY

Animal Equality's first U.S. investigation is released showing shocking cruelty at a calf ranch that supplies Bel Brands, producer of Babybel.

JULY

Animal Equality co-represents nonprofit consumer groups in a lawsuit filed against Tyson alleging deceptive marketing practices.

JULY

Animal Equality releases an investigation that reveals cruel and illegal practices at egg farms across India.

JUNE

Animal Equality, joined by a trio of public interest groups, challenges Arkansas’ Ag-Gag law in an effort to remove the veil of secrecy over the state’s factory farms.

JUNE

Animal Equality UK releases a new investigation with footage of horrifying conditions and extreme animal suffering on three chicken farms in Lincolnshire, England.

MAY

Started in 2018, Animal Equality's U.S. corporate outreach department records its first two successes, as its collaborative work leads to commitments from Denny’s and Sun Basket to eliminate some of the worst abuses endured by chickens in the companies’ meat supply chains.

MAY

Animal Equality releases a new investigation showing footage of extreme suffering, cannibalism and abuse on farms supplying chickens to the restaurant chain Nando’s, and retailers Lidl and Asda in the UK.

APRIL

In response to Animal Equality’s year of campaigning in Jalisco and the findings of our investigation into the State’s slaughterhouses, lawmakers approved Jalisco Without Cruelty, a historic initiative making cruelty to farmed animals in the State a crime.

MARCH

Following dialogue with Animal Equality several Indian companies from the hospitality and supermarket sectors have begun sourcing cage-free eggs, further propelling the global cage-free egg movement forward.

MARCH

Animal Equality collaborates with VICE Spain on a project called "Uncaged" which will inform VICE’s Spanish audience on our work and current campaigns in the country.

FEBRUARY

One of the recommendations by Animal Equality to the Government of India while presenting its dairy investigation was to introduce sexed semen technology. The government has introduced this technology through a pilot project and has got several states to start working on it.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality launches Jalisco Without Cruelty, a new campaign to change animal protection laws in Jalisco, Mexico, and asks lawmakers to pass legislation that would make cruelty against farmed animals in the state a crime.

FEBRUARY

Thanks to Animal Equality’s 2018 investigation of Fir Tree Farm in Lincolnshire, UK, three of the pig farm’s workers convicted of multiple animal cruelty offenses are sentenced for their crimes.

FEBRUARY

Working with Italian animal protection organization ENPA, Animal Equality successfully lobbied Italian chicken producer Amadori to change its advertising language as it was not reflective of the terrible conditions chickens killed for Amadori products lived in.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality is named co-council for Food and Water Watch and the Organic Consumers Association in their lawsuit against Pilgrim’s Pride alleging false advertising in relation to the treatment of the chickens killed for Pilgrim’s products.

JANUARY

In the U.S., Animal Equality helped defeat the King Amendment, which threatened to prohibit states from passing new animal protection laws and would have negated state existing laws protecting animals.

JANUARY

In Italy, Animal Equality releases a petition against cruelty in slaughterhouses addressed to the ministers of Health and Agriculture, with the petition reaching 120,000 signatures in just a few hours.
2018

DECEMBER

Animal Equality’s Corporate Outreach department, created in the fall of 2016, reaches a milestone of over 100 policies won that ban cages for egg-laying hens across Spain, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and India.

DECEMBER

In Mexico, Animal Equality releases a new investigation presented by activist and actor Eugenio Derbez exposing the cruel conditions that more than 200 million caged hens are living in.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality is named a Top Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators for the fourth year in a row.

NOVEMBER

Co-Founder and President Sharon Núñez featured in one of the most widely circulated newspapers in Spain, El Pais.

NOVEMBER

Love Veg launches in Spain.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality delivers 200,000 petition signatures to the German parliament calling for the end of cruel castration to piglets with anesthesia.

NOVEMBER

After Animal Equality helped to gather over 600,000 signatures in support of Prop 12, the ballot measure passes in the 2018 U.S. election cycle, ending cages for farmed animals in California and other states.

NOVEMBER

Actor and animal advocate Peter Egan joins Animal Equality to deliver 100,000 signatures demanding a UK foie gras import ban to Prime Minister Theresa May, with coverage in the Huffington Post and El País. Several restaurants, including at Tate Modern, drop foie gras from their menus.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality’s annual gala is held in Los Angeles and honors Kat Von D (Animal Hero Award), Nic Adler (Vegan Trailblazer) and Beyond Meat’s Ethan Brown (Compassionate Company Award). It also featured a special performance by Renee Olstead and was covered by Vogue magazine.

OCTOBER

Together with 130 European animal rights organizations, Animal Equality launches the End the Cage Age campaign asking the European Parliament to definitively ban the use of cages throughout the European Union.

SEPTEMBER

Love Veg launches in Mexico with a new digital cookbook to help individuals replace eggs in their diet and recipes. In the first month alone, the e-book was downloaded 71 thousand times.

SEPTEMBER

In Italy, Animal Equality releases a new investigation in collaboration with Italian state-owned television channel Tg2, exposing the horrible conditions that hundreds of thousands of hens used for eggs eggs are living in.

AUGUST

In a shocking investigation released by Animal Equality in the UK, dairy cows are shown being aggressively beaten by workers at Coombe Farm in Somerset, with covered in The Daily Mirror newspaper.

AUGUST

Activist and actor Edie Falco and her son join Animal Equality in protest of an iconic McDonald’s restaurant in Times Square.

AUGUST

Our undercover investigation in Italy gains exclusive access to a Sardinian fishing boat, exposing intensive trawling on the Mediterranean Sea while showing the atrocities of large-scale commercial fishing.

JULY

Following dialogue with Animal Equality, MPM farms of Tamil Nadu in Indiaannounced that all of its 25,000 hens will be moved to a cage-free housing system in 2019.

JULY

Animal Equality joins forces with other McDonald’s coalition members to commission a digital ad in Times Square that depicts the abuse of chickens on farms like those in McDonald’s supply chain. The ad ran for 6 months and reached an estimated 1 million people per day.

JULY

Dulce Ramírez, Animal Equality’s Executive DIrector in Mexico, is featured in the Unbound Project, which celebrates women at the forefront of advocacy.

JULY

In support of our McDonald’s campaign, Animal Equality joins coalition members and 250+ activists to protest in front of a McDonald’s restaurant in Los Angeles.

JUNE

Animal Equality staff are selected to present at the annual Animal RIghts Conference.

MAY

Animal Equality released shocking scenes of animal abuse filmed on Fir Tree pig farm in Lincolnshire, which is owned by Elsham Linc – one of Britain’s largest pig producers.

MAY

Animal Equality carries out the first investigation into the Mexican chicken industry exposing the suffering of these animals at hatcheries, farms, during transportation and at slaughterhouses.

APRIL

In April 2018, Animal Equality released a new investigation inside Italian chicken hatcheries

APRIL

Britain’s best-known birder and national treasure, Bill Oddie OBE, joined MPs and Animal Equality campaigners to call on Michael Gove to ‘Make Britain Foie Gras-free’ as they handed over 70,000 signatures backing an import ban post-Brexit.

MARCH

Animal Equality collaborated with IPSOS in a survey which revealed that majority of the people want companies to introduce animal protection policies and government should make stronger laws for animals.

MARCH

Animal Equality launches campaign to help chickens exploited for McDonald's. Animal Equality published a full-page open letter in The New York Times to launch the campaign.

MARCH

Noble Foods, the UK's biggest egg producer, announces a commitment to producing solely cage-free egg production by 2025. The decision, which will reduce the suffering of millions of birds every year, came after an Animal Equality investigation inside one of its suppliers.

MARCH

Animal Equality visits SXSW in Texas, USA, one of the words most important interactive, film, and music festivals to show iAnimal to hundreds of attendees.

MARCH

Animal Equality releases an investigation into the cruel Italian rabbit meat which routinely ignores the rules and regulations meant to minimize animal suffering during the cruel slaughter process.

FEBRUARY

Love Veg is Animal Equality’s global campaign. Bollywood actress Ayesha Takia is the face of Love Veg in India. The website covers comprehensive content on how vegan diet helps save the animals, environment and health, meat and dairy alternatives, recipes and tips.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality, in collaboration with the Spanish TV program Salvados, revealed devastating scenes of extreme animal suffering on a Spanish pig farm which supplies El Pozo - a sausage brand stocked by several major retailers.

JANUARY

Animal Equality presented an investigation inside pig slaughterhouses in Italy.

JANUARY

Animal Equality releases a study, in collaboration with Faunalytics, about the impact of video outreach.
2017

DECEMBER

Animal Equality is named a Top Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators.

DECEMBER

Our investigators infiltrated the Italian lamb meat industry showing images of one of the roughly 200 abattoirs that are allowed to slaughter animals without pre-stunning.

OCTOBER

Alongside Mexican TV personality Marco Antonio Regil, Animal Equality presents an exhibition in the Mexican Senate showing photographs inside Mexican farms and slaughterhouses, as well as presenting its virtual reality project to Senators in Mexico.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality presents a nationwide investigation in India exposing the cruel and illegal practices in hen and chicken farms. A report and a list of recommendations based on the footage obtained were included in the Law Commission's proposed- Egg Laying Hen Rules and Broiler Chicken Rules, 2017.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality brought to the European Parliament in Brussels its complaint about the mistreatment of farm animals with an exhibition entitled «Industrial Livestock: the biggest crime of our time?». The exhibition showed images of factory farms in Spain, England, and Germany.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality investigators discover calves caged in tiny pens far past the eight-week legal limit on a UK dairy farm that supplies M&S, resulting in international media coverage. The RSPCA was called in to inspect all dairy farms supplying M&S.

JULY

iAnimal - The Dairy Industry in 360º. iAnimal takes on the cruel dairy industry with its third film in the series, narrated by actor Evanna Lynch. Witness the secretive industry like never before.

JULY

Animal Equality uses drones to expose the devastating environmental impacts of factory farming. Our footage showed facilities across Catalonia, Spain full of toxic waste that is harming nearby residents and animals.

JULY

New investigation from Animal Equality brings to light the horrific and illegal cruelties inflicted on egg-laying hens in India.

JULY

Animal Equality introduces legal initiative to criminalize animal abuse in Mexican state of Jalisco.

JULY

Celebrities and politicians join Animal Equality’s campaign for a #FoieGrasFreeGB, demanding that the UK Parliament bans the importation of foie gras on the day we exit the EU.

MAY

Nationwide study of cattle markets in India by Animal Equality exposes the horrific cruelty inflicted on cattle and prompts new rules to regulate these markets. The new rules prohibit practices such as branding, hitting, twisting of tails and entry of heavily pregnant animals.

MAY

Animal Equality Releases its first investigation inside Brazil’s egg factory farms.

MAY

Following our undercover investigations we decide to team up with the famous Italian actor to launch a video message to protect lambs during easter holidays.

MAY

India introduces new rules, based on findings by Animal Equality, that prohibit the sale of cows and buffaloes in the country's animal markets.

MAY

Thanks to footage taken by Animal Equality, a dairy farm worker in Somerset pled guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and received a 12 month suspended prison sentence, a two-year ban on working with animals and a fine.

MAY

Animal Equality releases shocking pictures from a chicken factory farm in Lower Saxony, Germany. The tragic fate of the chick Finn causes a stir nationwide.

MARCH

The European Parliament approves an initiative by MEP Stefan Eck aimed at ending cages for rabbits raised by the meat industry. Animal Equality supported the initiative with #BanRabbitCages.

MARCH

Legislation introduced in the Mexican Senate, on behalf of Animal Equality, will criminalize cruelty to farmed animals at the federal level and hold accountable those who abuse them.

MARCH

Animal Equality visted several farms across Mexico and documented systemic cruelty in the dairy industry. Our investigation revealed painful mutilations and forced pregnancies.

FEBRUARY

Shocking investigation inside the egg industry get a massive media exposure, following this investigation the selling of eggs dropped for an entire week according to the 'Asso Avi' president of the Italian egg industry.
2016

DECEMBER

Our second 360º virtual reality film, 42 Days, takes a behind the scenes look into the lives of chickens raised for meat. It is presented and narrated by Kat Von D.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality celebrates 10 incredible years of helping animals thanks to the compassion of our supporters.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality opens office in Brazil. Animal Equality's Executive Director in Brazil is Vivian Mocellin.

NOVEMBER

An extensive undercover investigation by Animal Equality inside 31 slaughterhouses in seven different states in Mexico reveals extreme cruelty against animals.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality launches the first film in its iAnimal virtual reality film series. Presented and narrated by artist and musician Tony Kanal.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality Mexico releases a shocking investigation into battery-cage egg farms, the first investigation ever conducted inside factory farms in Mexico.

OCTOBER

An Animal Equality investigation uncovers violent abuse of cows and their calves on a family-run British dairy farm.

SEPTEMBER

Four years after Animal Equality revealed some of the most severe animal cruelty ever witnessed on the El Escobar pig farm in Spain, the trial against the four defendants finds them guilty and sentences them to prison.

AUGUST

During an investigation into British chicken farms, Animal Equality investigators rescue a weak young bird who had been thrown into the rubbish skip still alive. She was taken to an animal sanctuary and named Gloria - and she survived!

JUNE

Animal Equality presents evidence in the EU Parliament from our investigations into rabbit farms, supporting a campaign to ban the battery-cage farming of rabbits.

APRIL

New investigation reveals the suffering of rabbits during live export and the slaughtering in Italy.

MARCH

For the third year in a row, Animal Equality is recognized by Animal Charity Evaluators for efficient work to help animals.

JANUARY

Animal Equality investigators expose squalor and suffering on award-winning British pig farms linked to major supermarkets.

JANUARY

Animal Equality's virtual reality project iAnimal celebrates its international premiere during the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in the USA.
2015

DECEMBER

For the second year in a row, Animal Equality is chosen as a ‘Top Charity’ by Animal Charity Evaluators and recognized as one of the three most efficient animal rights organizations in the world.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality conducts the first investigation inside industrial chicken hatcheries in Spain and documents the merciless treatment of millions of tiny chicks. Several tens of millions of people have seen the video on the internet.

NOVEMBER

An Animal Equality investigation in China reveals the brutal killing of dogs for their skins.

SEPTEMBER

In September 2015, Animal Equality focuses its efforts on farmed animals. As an animal protection organization we want to make sure that our resources are being used to end the worst forms of animal suffering.

SEPTEMBER

We started our first program at Mexican universities, delivering free vegetarian guides to students from different universities in Mexico.

JUNE

Animal Equality collaborates with an Italian TV program to show millions of people shocking cruelty in several Italian pig farms and slaughterhouses.

MAY

Animal Equality uncovers cruel conditions in two organic laying hen farms that supply to Deutsche Frühstücksei GmbH, Germany's largest egg producer.

APRIL

The Mexican state of Jalisco prohibits the use of animals in circuses thanks to an initiative presented by Animal Equality and supported by local groups.

MARCH

Animal Equality rescues several animals from the Italian lamb meat industry, including little Basilico.

FEBRUARY

After an Animal Equality investigation, Mexico's Office of Environmental Protection seized over 100 animals from a decrepit zoo called "Club of the Little Animals."
2014

DECEMBER

Animal Equality investigates German duck farms and the country's largest suppliers are forced to close for several months. Workers face possible legal consequences.

DECEMBER

On the heels of its investigations inside the lamb industry Animal Equality Italy exposed the suffering behind live animals transport direct to the slaughterhouses and rescue two lambs during the investigation.

DECEMBER

After an Animal Equality investigation into rabbit farms in Spain and Italy, The Terrace restaurant in London stops offering rabbit meat on their menus.

NOVEMBER

In November 2014, two of Animal Equality’s international directors Sharon Nunez and Jose Valle incorporated Animal Equality as a non-profit (501c3) in the United States.

SEPTEMBER

Due to the initiative presented by Animal Equality in October 2013 and with the collaboration of other local associations, Guadalajara city in Mexico prohibits the exhibition and use of animals of any kind in circus shows.

AUGUST

Animal Equality in Germany reveals what lies behind the promise of German meat company Edeka's seemingly transparent branded meat program.

AUGUST

The Government of India passes a nationwide ban on the importation of foie gras as a direct result of Animal Equality’s investigations.

MAY

Animal Equality investigates more than 70 facilities across Europe that breed or raise rabbits for meat.

MAY

In a landmark victory, a nationwide ban on all performances of bulls, including bullock cart races, was introduced by the Supreme Court of India in May 2014 following the efforts of Animal Equality and other groups.

MAY

A directive issued by the Government of India reduces the number of large animals killed at the cruel festival of Gadhimai by 80%. The directive was issued after requests by Animal Equality.

MAY

For the first time ever coinciding with the celebration of the “Eid al-Adha”, also called the “Feast of the Sacrifice”, Animal Equality exposes to the public the extreme cruelty within the Halal meat industry in Italy.

APRIL

After investigations by Animal Equality, the consumption of lamb meat in Italy drops by 40% in 2014, and a further 50% the following year.

APRIL

A groundbreaking investigation filmed with hidden cameras showed once again the cruelty of lamb industry in Italy. The investigators got unprecedented footage of slaughterhouses and lamb weighing. After this exposé 6 to 10 Italian families ditch lamb meat for good during easter holidays.

APRIL

Animal Equality is chosen as a ‘Top Charity’ by Animal Charity Evaluators and recognized as one of the three most efficient animal rights organizations in the world.

MARCH

More than one hundred people gather in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to commemorate all those animals who suffer in factory farming and die.
2013

OCTOBER

Animal Equality’s investigations in China succeed in closing a dog slaughterhouse and 33 dog and cat markets.

SEPTEMBER

In the summer of 2013, Animal Equality rescues six hens from an egg factory farm in Germany.

JULY

Thirteen circuses were investigated in the state of Jalisco which led to the confiscation of animals in very bad condition, and two initiatives prohibiting circuses in Guadalajara and Jalisco.

MAY

Animal Equality's investigators rescued Vita, a dog used for breeding, from a slaughterhouse in China and took her to Europe where she gave birth to nine babies a short time later.

APRIL

Animal Equality conducts the first widespread investigation into the dog meat trade in China. An investigator from Animal Equality Germany films at China’s dog markets and slaughterhouses.

MARCH

An investigation by Animal Equality Italy reveals unprecedented images of cruelty to lambs in farms and slaughterhouses. Following this investigation, lamb meat consumption decreased during Easter holidays.

MARCH

Over a period of ten months, Animal Equality investigates the zoo Schwaben Park and documents the suffering of the chimpanzees held there.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality releases images from an investigation into the a monkey breeding facility. The animals were sold for vivisection labs across the world.
2012

DECEMBER

After the release of new footage inside foie-gras farms, the third best restaurant in the world, Mugartiz, is fined for using foie-gras coming from illegal farms.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality organizes the first congress against repression in Spain.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality fills the center of Madrid with crosses in remembrance of the animals victims of human abuse.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality organizes its fifth Animal Rights Day in the center of Madrid.

DECEMBER

Over 60 activists gathered in front of the Pantheon to commemorate the International Animal Rights Day. First action of this type in Italy. The demonstration got international media coverage.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality’s suggestion of a sensor device to prevent elephant deaths due to train accidents was accepted by the Government of India. The device has been developed and is in experimental stage as of October 2016.

NOVEMBER

After another foie gras investigation by Animal Equality, the largest supermarket chain in Italy, COOP, decides to end the sale of foie gras.

NOVEMBER

An Animal Equality investigation into British pig farms results in the closure of Harling Farm and the prosecution of its workers for animal cruelty. They receive the longest sentence ever handed down for abuse of farmed animals.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality started working in Mexico in 2012. Animal Equality’s Executive Director in Mexico is Dulce Ramírez.

JULY

Animal Equality begins many years of investigations into the foie gras industry. Our petition against foie gras production has reached 100,000 signatures to date.

JUNE

Animal Equality presents an investigation uncovering the cruelty behind the capturing and killing of Tuna in Carloforte, Italy.

MAY

Thomas Hecquet, Vera Witke, Dani Schmid, Hendrick Hassel and other activists start Animal Animal Equality in Germany. The Executive Director in Germany is Ria Rehberg.

APRIL

A crowded march against the use of animals in experiments brings hundreds of people together to fight the use of animals in laboratories.

MARCH

Human Meat Tray Demo in Barcelona, Spain.

JANUARY

On January 14th 2012, Animal Equality was registered as an organization in Italy. Animal Equality’s Executive Director in Italy is Matteo Cupi.
2011

DECEMBER

For its fourth Animal Rights Day, Animal Equality brings hundreds of activists together in Madrid.

NOVEMBER

Hundreds of people join Animal Equality to protest fur farming.

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality exposes the cruelty behind ritual killings in Melilla.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality releases an investigation inside ten Spanish zoos. The investigation gains national attention and sparks a national debate in Spain about zoos and aquariums.

SEPTEMBER

For the third year in a row, Animal Equality exposes the cruelty at the Tordesillas event in Spain.

JUNE

Animal Equality continues its work in London to educate people about the benefits of plant-based eating.

FEBRUARY

March against animal experiments in Catalonia, Spain.

JANUARY

Animal Equality started working in India in 2011. Animal Equality’s Executive Director in India is Amruta Ubale.
2010

DECEMBER

Animal Equality commemorates Animal Rights Day with a shocking action at Leicester Square in London, United Kingdom.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality rescues five hens from a factory farm in Spain. The organization is joined by animal activist and photographer Jo-Anne McArthur.

SEPTEMBER

For the third year in a row, Animal Equality releases hidden-camera footage of one of Spain's cruelest bullfighting event, Toro de la Vega.

MAY

Animal Equality presents its second investigation into Spanish pig farms. The organization released a detailed investigation covering over 140 farms. The images captured by the organization were released in prime-time on Spanish television.

MARCH

Animal Equality carries out another shocking action against bullfighting. The organization lowers a banner in Puente de Segovia, Spain.

FEBRUARY

A protest against fur farming brings hundreds of people together in Madrid.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality carries out its second cat-walk disruption in Madrid, Spain to protest against the cruelty of the fur industry.

JANUARY

Dozens of activists protest inside a fur shop in Madrid, Spain.
2009

DECEMBER

For its second Animal Rights Day, Animal Equality brings together hundreds of activists from different European countries.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality carries out the first open rescue of lambs in Spain during Christmas Eve. The rescue is lived streamed becoming the first lived stream open rescue to be carried out.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality presents its first investigation inside the fur industry. The organization releases footage inside several Spanish fur farms.

OCTOBER

On October 16th, 2009 Animal Equality registered as a non-profit limited company (and in 2017 as a charity) in the UK.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality releases hidden-camera footage of one of Spain's cruelest bullfighting event, Toro de la Vega.

APRIL

Animal Equality lowers a banner against bullfighting in Seville.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality carries out its first cat-walk disruption in Madrid, Spain to protest against the cruelty of the fur industry.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality carries out an impactful protest against the fur industry. Several volunteers and two of the co-founders of the organization chain themselves to a fur stall during the biggest fur fair in Spain. The action is covered by Spanish national television reaching millions of people.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality carries a protest against a judge who was shown hunting in the media.

JANUARY

Animal Equality carries out a protest against fur in a shopping mall in Seville, Spain.
2008

DECEMBER

In 2008, Animal Equality carried out its first investigation inside Spanish slaughterhouses. Jose Valle, who would become Animal Equality’s Director of Investigations, visited five slaughterhouses in northern Spain and the images were shown in the media.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality rescues ten hens from a factory farm in Spain. The rescue of animals was viewed on television by over 2.5 million people on Spanish TV.

DECEMBER

Animal Equality commemorates Animal Rights Day in Madrid by honoring animals who suffer in factory farms and slaughterhouses. This action has been replicated by Animal Equality and other organizations around the world.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality activists jump into a bullring in Zaragoza, Spain, to protest the killing of bulls for entertainment.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality protests bullfighting in Zaragoza, Spain, by lowering a banner from the cities largest bullring. The action was covered by Spanish national television, as well as local papers, and reached millions of people.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality protests one of the most horrific bullfighting events in Spain by showing a banner that read "respect animals" from the sky.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality uses undercover hidden cameras to film the killing of a bull in Tordesillas, Spain.

AUGUST

Animal Equality carries out and presents its first investigation into pig farms. The footage revealed by the organization showed the conditions suffered by pigs in Spain in a farm-related with Campofrio, one of Spain's biggest meat producers.

JULY

Animal Equality protests one of the biggest meat companies in Spain by carrying out a protest at their headquarters.

JUNE

Animal Equality lowers a banner reading "bullfighting abolition" from Barcelona's bullfighting ring.

MAY

Animal Equality lowers two banners from the world's most important bullring that read "Abolition."

APRIL

Animal Equality displays a banner at one of Spain's biggest symbols, the Osborne bull.

MARCH

Animal Equality protests the killing of seals in Canada at the Canadian embassy in Madrid.
2007

SEPTEMBER

In 2007 Animal Equality carried out its first open rescue. Animal Equality was the first organization in Europe to carry out an open rescue. Six pigs were rescued from a factory farm in Spain and brought to a sanctuary. Since its foundation Animal Equality has carried out many open rescues, saving over 100 animals.

MARCH

Animal Equality protests the killing of seals in Canada at the Canadian embassy in Madrid.

FEBRUARY

Animal Equality protests the use of animals in circuses in Madrid, Spain.
2006

NOVEMBER

Animal Equality uses a shocking action to represent the need for consumers to reject meat and other animal products. This protest has been replicated by organizations around the world.

OCTOBER

Animal Equality starts working in Latin America. The organization creates groups of activists in different countries who carry out protests and distribute pro-veg leaflets.

OCTOBER

Protest in Japanese embassy on killing of dolphins in Japan every year.

SEPTEMBER

Animal Equality's first action was shocking and gained a great amount of media attention. Two of Animal Equality's founders, as well as two other activists, chained themselves to the entrance of a slaughterhouse in Madrid, Spain.

Animal Equality was founded in 2006 by Jose Valle, Javier Moreno and Sharon Nunez in Spain. Animal Equality's mission is a world where all animals are respected and protected.