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Our Impact

We are creating that world through engagement with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the 27 EU member states. We also collaborate with many non-governmental organizations, corporations, animal advocates and more.

21

European countries have banned fur farming

5,000

cats and dogs in Romania received care (including spay/neuter, food and other services) from us in 2024 alone

1.2
million

EU citizens signed a petition demanding a Europe without animal testing

What we are working on

We envision a world without animal cruelty, where humans and animals live in harmony. We are focusing our efforts in the European Union on a few key areas.

Mink on a fur farm

Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals

Ban fur farming and sales

In 2023, we helped create and deliver a petition with more than 1.5 million signatures asking the European Commission to ban fur farming and sales, and we’re lobbying the Commission to propose an EU-wide ban on fur production.

rabbits getting cosmetic tested

Siqui Sanchez/Getty Images

Phase out testing and research on animals

Each year, more than 10 million animals are used across Europe for research and testing. With the support of collaborators and the many Europeans asking for change, we’re pushing the EU to phase out all laboratory use of animals and rely on more modern, human-relevant science.

Wolf head and skins at Dallas Safari Club Convention 2020

The HSUS

Ban imports of hunting trophies

We are also campaigning for bans on the import of hunting trophies into EU member states and collaborating with the transportation industry to prohibit the transport of hunting trophies. And we’re combating wildlife trafficking, providing resources for animals in underserved communities, helping animals in Ukraine and more. 

S. Chakrabarti/We Animals Media

End caged confinement of farm animals

Around 40% of the EU’s 397 million laying hens are still confined to enriched cages, and while Austria, Denmark and Luxembourg have phased out cage systems, egg-laying hens in other countries still suffer in cages. We’re urging the European Commission to fulfill its promise to share legislative proposals to end caged confinement.

Latest News

Fox fur farm investigation in Finland, carried out by Humane World for Animals in collaboration with Finnish animal protection group Oikeutta eläimille in late October 2024.

Kristo Muurimaa

EU fur farming has been unprofitable for years and costs EU citizens €446 million a year, new report finds

BRUSSELS - Animal protection groups have renewed their call on the European Commission to bring forward an EU-wide ban on fur farming and trade as they launched a new economic report in Parliament

Europe
Legal loopholes make EU a prime destination for stolen wildlife trade

The European Union remains a main hub and destination for wildlife ‘stolen’ from the Americas, Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and Oceania. A new report makes the case for stricter laws and the closure

Europe |Germany
A year after the devastating floods, Humane World for Animals' grants help five shelters in Poland increase capacity to help animals during disasters

WARSAW, Poland - The animal protection organization Humane World for Animals, formerly known as Humane Society International, recently made grants to assist five animal shelters in areas affected by

Poland |Europe

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Photo by Volodymyr Burdiak/Alamy Stock Photo/