Despite decades of EU legislation and constitutional recognition of animal sentience, industrial farming, the wildlife trade, and animal-based research continue to thrive. A new book edited by Prof. Aude-Solveig Epstein and Alice Di Concetto argues that meaningful progress for animals will remain limited unless economic law itself is rethought and reformed in a consistent, systemic, and far-reaching manner, placing animal welfare at the heart of corporate governance and market regulation.

In her latest paper, our Legislative Advocacy Manager, Gabriela Kubíková, examines the legislation governing the welfare of chickens. She stresses the need for a more evidence-based approach to animal welfare law and policy, emphasizing the necessity of revising the current legislative standards – as well as entirely re-thinking the broader food system in which these and billions of other animals are exploited.

A paper co-authored by our Junior Researcher, Gladys Le Goff, with the Stockholm Environment Institute and Leiden University claims that industrial insect farming may not be the climate and animal welfare solution it is often portrayed to be. Greenhouse gas emissions generated from insect production can approach those of chicken and pork, and plant-based and cultivated proteins are more promising alternatives that should not be neglected or under-explored at the expense of investment in insect farming.