Search icon

All animals have evolved to be perfectly adapted for their ecological niche, their part in natural ecosystems, and the more conditions in which we force them to live deviate from these conditions, the more their welfare will suffer.

Professor Tim Lang, Centre for Food Policy, City University of London

Factory farming and aquaculture are the biggest forms of animal cruelty on the planet affecting more than 80 billion individual animals on land and an estimated 50-160 billion fish every year in underwater intensive fish farms.

Factory farming, and the associated industrial mono-crop production necessary to supply animal feed, are also drivers of global biodiversity loss – including the demise of farmland birds, bees and butterflies, as well as iconic species, such as penguins, polar bears, elephants, jaguars, orangutans and rhinoceros.

In February 2021, the Chatham House report Food System Impacts on Biodiversity Loss, published in partnership with Compassion in World Farming and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), identified that the intensification of agriculture - especially intensive animal agriculture - is the world's major driver.

Globe

You are using an outdated browser which we do not support. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security.

If you have any further questions regarding this, or any other matter, please get in touch with us at supporters@ciwf.org.uk. We aim to respond to all queries within two working days. However, due to the high volume of correspondence that we receive, it may occasionally take a little longer. Please do bear with us if this is the case. Alternatively, if your query is urgent, you can contact our Supporter Engagement Team on +44 (0)1483 521 953 (lines open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm).