BUCHAREST, Romania – Humane World for Animals, formerly called Humane Society International, launches "The Unseen Life of Farm Animals", a powerful campaign that exposes the hidden suffering behind industrial farming systems and encourages Romanian consumers, food companies and producers to make informed choices and to take meaningful steps towards improving animal welfare.
Treated as commodities rather than sentient beings, the farm animals endure lives of confinement, deprivation, and suffering and are denied the ability to engage in important natural behaviors, being subjected to conditions that compromise their physical and emotional wellbeing.
Through our global farm animal welfare work, Humane World for Animals advocates for stronger European legislation and collaborates with corporations worldwide to implement cage-free and crate-free policies for chickens and pigs. This campaign builds on those efforts, aiming to inspire change both in consumer behavior and in the way the industry approaches animal welfare.
In Romania, this campaign comes at an important time, as the European Union continues to review and strengthen its animal welfare legislation. As one of the key players in the European meat and egg market, Romania has both the opportunity and the responsibility to align with higher welfare standards. Consumers have the right to know how the food they buy is produced, and to be informed about the realities behind industrial farming, even when these realities are uncomfortable. With greater awareness, the public can demand transparency and push food companies to adopt more responsible and sustainable practices that respect both animals and people.
“This campaign is about truth and transformation,” said Andreea Roseti, country director at Humane World for Animals Romania. “We want to inform the public about the conditions animals endure in industrial farms and show them that it is up to them to make compassionate choices and actions that support a more ethical food system. Maybe the information we share with the public is difficult and sad, but we cannot ignore the reality. The public can help mobilize food companies to improve the welfare of animals in their supply chains, by asking for what they want.”
What can consumers do to improve the lives of animals in industrial farms?
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Make informed choices when buying eggs or meat. Choose products from companies that prioritize animal welfare and check websites or labels for clear information about applied standards.
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Support companies that adopt higher welfare practices, such as the European Chicken Commitment or cage-free farming, and ask in stores and restaurants about product sourcing.
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Support initiatives that promote higher animal welfare standards and demand transparency from the companies you buy from.
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Sign the pledge to support better welfare for farm animals.
As consumers become more interested and informed on the welfare of farm animals, their choices can influence the entire food industry. Therefore companies in Romania have the opportunity, and the responsibility to lead by example. More than 2,000 companies globally have already committed to sourcing eggs only from cage-free hens or meat from crate-free farmed pigs. Romanian businesses can join this movement by adopting these commitments and by signing onto initiatives like the European Chicken Commitment, which provides scientific recommendations for food businesses to improve the welfare of chickens.
“Producers will prioritize animal welfare when consumers and companies require it,” added Roseti. “By making informed choices, each of us can help protect farmed animals from the most abusive farming practices.”
The campaign also aims to answer questions about the economic impact of higher animal welfare standards: While giving animals a little more space or time to grow can slightly increase production costs, these differences become marginal once they reach the consumer level, as costs are diluted by processing, transport and retail markups.
According to a 2023 study conducted by Novel Research, 80% of Romanians are willing to pay up to 10% more for products from higher welfare systems, and 69% believe farm animals deserve better protection (2023 Eurobarometer).
Humane World for Animals is committed to working with policymakers, corporations and producers to provide access to the science, tools and management practices needed to improve animal welfare. This campaign is part of a broader effort to end the cruelest practices in industrial farming and promote a future where compassion and sustainability go hand in hand.
Facts about farmed animals in Romania
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4.8 million hens kept for egg production spend their entire “productive” lives in cages that offer each bird no more space than an A4 sheet of paper. Even in these so-called enriched cages, critical natural behaviors like walking, perching and wing-flapping are severely restricted.
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Over 300,8 million chickens are killed annually, after a life in barren, industrial environments, crowded together with little regard to their sentient nature. The birds reach slaughter weight in just under six weeks, a pace that causes painful mobility issues and leaves many unable to walk, then often unable to access food and water.
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Pigs kept for breeding in the pig industry are confined in very small gestation crates while pregnant. These sows have so little space that they cannot even turn around. Then they are confined to a farrowing crate for giving birth, which is the same size and separates them from their piglets with metal bars, denying them the ability to nurture and bond.
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