How was 2022 for animals? 25 news stories and reports you should know about.

Cover photo by We Animals Media. Article photos from Shutterstock.

2022 was a year of ups and downs for animals around the world, with massive progress in some animal advocacy initiatives and setbacks in others. We've rounded up a list of 25 major animal-related policy changes, news stories, and research reports from China and around the world in 2022.

1

SPAIN · In January, Spain introduced new legislation changing the legal status of certain companion animals to "sentient beings" rather than personal property and making it illegal to abandon pets. The new law also stipulates that as sentient beings and not objects, pets are legal family members and entitled to corresponding legal rights. Read more

2

CHINA · In January, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released its Five-Year Plan, which explicitly included cultured meat for the first time in its history. The report recommends promoting innovation in "cutting-edge and cross-integrated technologies", a category that includes "cell-based meat, synthetic egg cream, functional recombinant protein cultivation". This change could encourage more food producers to spare the animals and choose alternative proteins instead. Read more

3

CHINA · In Februrary, the China Coast Guard, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and several other ministries jointly released the "Action Plan for Comprehensive Management of Key Marine Areas" targeting the Bohai Sea, Hangzhou Bay, and the Pearl River Estuary. Although the action plan doesn't directly address animals, it proposes a series of ecological restoration and protection measures that would significantly improve the wellbeing of animals in the region. Read more

4

CHINA · In February, National People's Congress deputy Zhu Lieyu submitted a motion to enact anti-animal cruelty laws to protect animals from mistreatment and abuse. Zhu has previously submitted the motion four times before but legislation has not been passed. Explaining the reasons behind the motion, Zhu cited the alarming recurrence of animal cruelty in the news and stated that China's lack of laws and regulations on animal cruelty and punishment make it extremely difficult for law enforcers to convict and punish animal abusers. Read more

5

SWITZERLAND · In February 2022, animal activists in Switzerland successfully initated a nationwide vote to approve a ban on animal testing and the import of animal-tested products. The ban would apply to all animal tests and experiments, including those used for scientific and medical purposes, and would have made Switzerland the first country to ban such practices. The ban ultimately failed to pass, with only 21 percent of voters in favor. Read more

6

CHINA · In March, China's Hubei province revised provincial animal epidemic prevention regulations. The revisions included prohibiting residents from raising "large and dangerous" dogs. However, the revisions also included imposing fines on pet owners who abandon their pets. Read more

7

IRELAND · In March, 2022, legislation banning fur farming in the Republic of Ireland passed the final stages of the parliamentary process and went to parliament to be signed into law. The bill includes a scheme to compensate fur farming operators for losses resulting from the ban. Read more

8

SPAIN · In May, anti-fur campaigners presented a letter calling for a ban on fur production to MPs Txema Guijarro and Pilar Calvo to deliver to the Prime Minister and other Members of the Spanish Parliament. The proposed legislation is currently being considered. Read more

9

CHINA · In May, a team of researchers from China and Harvard Law School's Animal Law and Policy Program released findings from intensive field research with leaders in the livestock industry in China. Entitled "Opportunities for the Progression of Farm Animal Welfare in China", the study seeks to identify opportunities for improving farm animal welfare in China. Read more

10

EUROPEAN UNION · In June, members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of phasing out the use of cages in animal agriculture after a petition demanding a ban on caged animal farming systems collected more than 1.4 million names. Read more

11

AUSTRALIA · In August, after seven years of negotiation between industry stakeholders and animal welfare groups, Australia published the Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry and announced a plan to completely phase out battery cages in poultry framing by 2036. The proposed reforms require farms to provide more space for laying hens and bathing water for ducks. Read more

12

GLOBAL · In August, a team of researchers published findings of a global research study on perceptions of animals and the importance of their welfare. The team surveyed 4,291 members of the public from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States about their perceptions of animals and animal welfare. The study found that most people believe the welfare of farmed and companion animals is important, as are the laws that protect their welfare. Read more

13

UNITED STATES · In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom passed the PET (Prohibiting Extraneous Testing) Act, which prohibits testing the toxicity of pesticides, chemical substances and other products intended for humans on dogs and cats. The bill includes exemptions for tests related to products intended for use in dogs or cats, including medical treatments. The bill does not impact federally required testing. Read more

14

NETHERLANDS · In September, the Dutch city Haarlem became the first city in the world to ban meat advertisements from public places. The ban, which will be implemented in 2024, comes in response to data showing that animal agriculture is one of the key contributors to greenhouse gases causing climate change. In response to controversy about the unprecedented legislation, Ziggy Klazes, the councillor who drafted the proposal, said "If people want to continue eating meat that's fine, but we can’t tell people there’s a climate crisis and then encourage them to buy products that are part of the problem.” Read more

15

DENMARK · The Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries said that it would ban the establishment of new cage egg farms starting in 2023 and phase out the use of cages in existing poultry and egg farms by 2035. The 12-year transition period, while longer than what was originally recommended by lobbyists, is intended to give farmers time to fund and implement changes to their farming practices. Read more

16

SOUTH AFRICA · On October 16, World Food Day, Animal Law Reform South Africa released the white paper "Sowing the Seeds of Change: Towards a More Just and Inclusive Food System in South Africa". The white paper identifies how current animal agricultural practices harm animals, the environment, food security, public health, and social justice, and calls on the South African government to create a robust regulatory ecosystem that moves away from industrial animal agriculture and towards plant- and cell-based alternatives. Read more

17

GLOBAL · In October, a global team of researchers released findings from a study of consumer attitudes towards egg production systems and hen welfare across the world. The study surveyed 4,292 members of the public from Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Thailand, UK and USA. The findings show that most participants across all countries eat eggs but do not want hens to suffer in the process of producing the eggs. Furthermore, a majority of participants indicated a preference for eggs from hens not kept in cages. Read more

18

CHINA · In October, new dog management regulations for the city of Chongqing were submitted to the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal People's Congress for a final round of review and revision and are expected to be implemented in 2023. Proposed revisions included raising the limit on the number of dogs per household from one to two, prohibiting urban residents from raising large dogs, and requiring dog owners to muzzle large and aggressive dogs when outside of the house. The proposal also sought residents' input on the issue of fining owners who abandon their dogs. Read more

19

CHINA & SWITZERLAND · In November, the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP14) took place in a hybrid format in Wuhan, China and Geneva, Switzerland. This marks the first time that a Chinese city has hosted the conference. Wuhan is home to about 162,000 hectares of wetlands--almost 19 percent of its total area--including several micro-wetland ecosystems and six national wetland parks. The Convention's mission is to mobilize local and international stakeholders to preserve wetland ecosystems, which provide habitat for countless animal species worldwide. Read more

20

UNITED STATES · In November, The Environmental Law Reporter published a study analyzing the feasibility of farm transition programs that use carbon offset agreements to incentivize farms to switch from raising livestock to growing crops. The article was researched and written by Manny Rutinel, an Associate Attorney at Earthjustice and the CEO of Climate Refarm, and Sebastian Quaade, a Research Fellow at Stanford Law School’s Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab. The study found that "a livestock-to-plants farm transition project can satisfy all of the criteria for offset protocols, and provides a preliminary methodology to calculate the emission reductions associated with a farm transition." Read more

21

CHINA · In December, China's top legislature passed a revised Wildlife Protection Law that will come into effect on May 1, 2023. The newly revised legislation addresses the prevention of zoonotic epidemics and the management of captive-bred wild animals. It also strengthens wildlife rescue and rehabilitation and further stipulates the responsibility of the private sector in wildlife crime prevention. The International Fund for Animal Welfare published a comparison between the 2018 and 2023 versions of the law. Read more

22

UNITED STATES · In December, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act, making New York the 10th US state to prohibit the sale of cosmetics tested on animals. Taking effect on January 1, 2023, the Act bans the sale of cosmetics newly tested on animals in the State of New York. Cosmetics manufacturers will have to use non-animal testing methods to be able to sell their products in New York. Read more

23

UNITED STATES · In December, an act was proposed in Washington, D.C., that would ban the sale of cosmetics developed or produced using animal testing. If enacted, the law would take effect on January 1, 2024. Read more

24

UNITED STATES · In December, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a new law banning the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in the state of New York. The ban, which takes effect in December 2024, is meant to prevent the sale of animals bred in commercial "puppy mills" where animals are kept in inhumane conditions. Read more

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CHINA · In December, a team of Chinese researchers released the report "Consumer Preferences for Animal Welfare in China: Optimization of Pork Production-Marketing Chains". The study assessed Chinese consumers' preferences for pork produced using animal-welfare-enhancing farming strategies. Findings suggest that Chinese consumers were willing to pay an additional 5-23% for high-welfare pork. Read more

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The successes of 2022 give us a lot to look forward to in 2023, setting the stage for more animal advocacy initiatives to advance their causes and for more countries to follow suit with new animal welfare legislation. What animal welfare issues in China are you following closely in 2023? Get in touch and let us know.

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