Archived Version: November, 2016
| Status | Exploratory |
| Primary Work Area | Industrial Agriculture |
| Website | Anima |
| Review Published | November, 2016 |
| Type | Archived Review |
| Current Version | December, 2019 |
In 2018, Anima merged with Open Cages, an ACE Standout Charity. The newly formed group will be referred to as Anima International and will be active in U.K., Denmark, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and Russia. As a result, information in this review about how Anima may allocate funding could be dated. This note was added in July 2018.
Anima is a Danish charity that conducts legal work, corporate outreach, and public outreach on behalf of animals. They advocate primarily for animals in factory farms and the fur industry. They also advocate for companion animals, lab animals, and animals in the entertainment industry. For example, two investigations in 2009 and 2011, in which Anima played a crucial role, led to substantial media attention for mink farming. The following debate led a small majority of the population to support a mink ban, according to official opinion polls.
In 2018, Anima merged with Open Cages, an ACE Standout Charity. The newly formed group will be referred to as Anima International and will be active in U.K., Denmark, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and Russia. As a result, information in this review about how Anima may allocate funding could be dated.
Anima is a Danish charity that conducts legal work, corporate outreach, and public outreach on behalf of animals. They advocate primarily for animals in factory farms and the fur industry. They also advocate for companion animals, lab animals, and animals in the entertainment industry. For example, two investigations in 2009 and 2011, in which Anima played a crucial role, led to substantial media attention for mink farming. The following debate led a small majority of the population to support a mink ban, according to official opinion polls.
Impact Evaluation:
Working with Legislators and Corporations
Legal work and corporate outreach can both be high-impact ways of helping animals, particularly through laws or policies that affect large populations of animals. Anima has achieved some success through its work to influence legislation. In 2009, after Anima’s campaigning, the Danish parliament instituted a ban on fox farming. Anima has also worked to ban the import and sale of seal products in the EU and to ban the sale of dog and cat fur in Denmark and the EU.
Anima has worked successfully with corporations to introduce animal-friendly policies. They are a member of the Fur Free Alliance and have worked with fashion chains to institute fur-free commitments. Anima is also a member of the Open Wing Alliance, which campaigns for corporations to make cage-free commitments. Dansk Supermarked Group and Coop, which operate some of Denmark’s most popular grocery chains, have agreed to switch to cage-free eggs by the years 2019 and 2020, respectively. Following these agreements, all Danish supermarkets have now committed to ending cage egg production. We are optimistic about the impact of cage-free campaigns, and we hope that their success in Denmark will pave the way for further animal-friendly commitments in Europe.
Grassroots Outreach
Anima puts substantial effort into reaching large numbers of people with farmed animal messages and veg advocacy. For example, Anima produced a video of music festival-goers reacting to “Farm to Fridge,” which included investigation footage and was shared by the “Best Video You Will Ever See” Facebook page, gathering over 22 million views. Anima has also worked to gather and share footage of Denmark’s animal agriculture industry, which has plausibly had a substantial impact by showing viewers that farmed animals endure tremendous suffering in their own country, not just in places like the United States.
Varied Potential Impact of Campaigns
In Denmark, approximately 127 million land animals are slaughtered for food each year and 4.6 million hens1 are used for their egg production.2 Approximately 18.6 million minks, 7,000 foxes, and 24,000 other animals are killed each year in the Danish fur industry.3
In 2003 Anima campaigned for a ban of cat and dog fur. Denmark was one of the first countries in Europe with that legislation, which was banned across the EU in 2006. In 2009 a ban of fox farming was introduced in Denmark, following an Anima campaign. Few retailers sold cat and dog fur, and the number of foxes is relatively small compared to other farmed populations. While the direct impact is not as compelling, these bans may serve as a foundation for a mink ban in the future. Anima has the potential to help relatively large numbers of animals through corporate outreach campaigns, investigations, and media outreach for mink, cows, pigs, and especially chickens and fish in Denmark.
This number does not include chickens under 6 months old who are being raised for egg production.
These estimates are based on the number of animals slaughtered and the number of hens used for eggs in Denmark in 2013, the most recent year for which we have data.
These estimates are based on the number of animals used for their fur in Denmark in 2010, the most recent year for which we have data, except the number of Mink, which is based on Kopenhagen Fur’s website, which Anima suggested is more accurate.