Australia. Brazil. Chile. China. India. Malaysia. Nigeria. The Philippines. The United Kingdom. The United States.
By some measures, these countries hold very little in common. Different languages, different currencies, different cuisines… But it’s this wealth of differences that makes the things they do share all the more special. Here’s one that’s near and dear to my heart: People in each of these countries, and beyond, truly care for farmed animals.
In a study from last year, researchers found that more than three-quarters of people in each of these countries, and others, agree:
“The welfare of farmed animals in [my country] is important to me.”
It’s amazing to me that we share this common ground with people from all over the world. We might dream in different languages, and vote in different elections, but we can all agree that animals raised for food should not endure endless days and weeks and months of abuse.
All those countries I listed above (and many many more) are represented in the Open Wing Alliance (OWA)—a global coalition working hard to spare hens from extreme confinement by influencing companies to change “business as usual.”
Around the world, hens yearn for freedom from brutal cages—and that yearning knows no borders.
Which is why, around the world, Changemakers are working relentlessly to protect these hens from extreme confinement. Our name says it all. We want a world where birds can spread their wings—and we’re coming together to make that happen.
Changemakers like you, in over 70 countries around the globe, have pushed nearly 2,500 companies to go cage-free. And over 1,100 of those companies have already eradicated the cruelest forms of confinement.
Here’s some of what we’re seeing from Open Wing Alliance members on the ground, all around the world:
- Following the Open Wing Alliance Asia Summit, Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan (EAST) has led the Asia Cage-Free Benchmark, which gauges countries in the Asia-Pacific region by their legislative and policy protections for hens. This massive undertaking is made possible through the collaboration of Open Wing Alliance member groups across the region.
- In Ghana, Animal Welfare League’s National Cage-Free Directory highlights farmers who have committed to using cage-free farming systems—and will continue to expand to reach producers across Africa.
- Thanks to a collaboration between Plataforma ALTO (based in Colombia) and Sinergia Animal (based in Brazil), nine different restaurants, cafés, and bakeries across Latin America promised to go cage-free.
- Bans against cages now cover each of Belgium’s regions—Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels—thanks to the efforts of Global Action in the Interest of Animals (GAIA).
- And in New Zealand, Animals Aotearoa is advocating for chickens raised for meat. The group recently influenced two new food businesses—a café chain and a restaurant chain—to adopt the Australia-New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment with a deadline of 2026.
A cage-free future is coming—and it’s well past time for corporations worldwide to accept that. Thank you for being a changemaker for chickens!
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Ellie Ponders
Head of Global Corporate Engagement |
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