The vast majority of animal suffering remains systemic and widespread. By the end of 2024, billions of animals will endure lives confined to cramped cages, subjected to painful experiments, or raised in the brutal efficiency of factory farms. Despite these grim realities, meaningful progress was made this year in improving animal welfare, driven by advocacy, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences. Here’s a breakdown of nine key victories, demonstrating that change – though incremental – is possible.
The Shrinking Fur Trade and Poland’s Landmark Ban
The fur industry continues to collapse under pressure from ethical concerns and economic realities. In 2024, Poland, formerly the world’s second-largest fur producer, banned fur farming outright. This move follows a decade-long decline, with the number of farmed animals plummeting from 140 million to 20.5 million between 2014 and 2024. This ban reflects a growing global trend away from animal-based fur, driven by consumer demand for alternatives and increased public awareness of cruelty.
Cage-Free Eggs Gain Ground in the U.S.
While far from ideal, the shift toward cage-free eggs represents a significant improvement for millions of hens. The share of cage-free eggs in the U.S. jumped from 38.7% to 45.3% between December 2024 and September 2025, sparing roughly 20 million hens from a life spent in confinement. This is the fastest increase since animal advocates began pushing for cage-free standards in the early 2000s. However, industry groups continue to fight these changes through legal challenges, underscoring the ongoing battle for better animal welfare standards.
Pet Store Bans Expand Across the U.S.
The sale of dogs and cats in pet stores is increasingly banned across the U.S., targeting puppy and kitten mills that supply animals raised in unsanitary, unregulated conditions. Over 20 additional U.S. jurisdictions, including Las Vegas, Denver, Detroit, and Manatee County, Florida, passed bans this year. This trend forces consumers to adopt from shelters instead, reducing demand for cruelly bred animals.
Swiss Meat Labels Force Transparency on Mutilation
Switzerland passed a law requiring meat producers to disclose on packaging whether animals were subjected to painful mutilations without anesthesia – practices like tail docking in piglets, beak searing in hens, and horn removal in cows. While the law doesn’t ban these practices, it forces companies to be transparent about their cruelty, potentially influencing consumer choices.
Chick Sexing Technology Reduces Mass Culling
The egg industry kills billions of male chicks annually, as they cannot lay eggs and are not profitable for meat production. However, sex-detection technology that identifies chicks in the egg is rapidly expanding. As of spring 2025, over 25% of eggs in Europe were scanned with this technology, preventing hundreds of millions of brutal deaths. Commercialization in the U.S. and Brazil is now underway, signaling a potential global shift away from this horrific practice.
Animal Testing Reduction Efforts Gain Momentum
The National Institutes of Health and the UK government committed to reducing animal testing and accelerating the development of non-animal methods. This includes investing in high-tech alternatives for drug safety and biomedical research. While political complexities remain, these initiatives promise fewer animals subjected to painful experiments and potentially more efficient scientific outcomes.
Dairy Industry Loosens Restrictions on Plant-Based Alternatives
The U.S. dairy industry’s requirement to offer cow’s milk at every school meal – often wasted – is loosening. A new bill will allow schools to proactively offer soy milk alongside cow’s milk, requiring only a parent’s note instead of a doctor’s note for plant-based alternatives. This benefits student choice, reduces food waste, and lessens the demand for dairy products from potentially abusive farms.
Shrimp Welfare Gains Recognition
Crustaceans like shrimp are farmed in staggering numbers (630 billion annually). European grocery chains are committing to electrically stunning shrimp before slaughter, rather than suffocating them. A major seafood certifier pledged to ban eyestalk ablation – a brutal practice to accelerate reproduction. This emerging focus on invertebrate welfare gained traction, even reaching mainstream media like The Daily Show.
Chicken Breeding Reforms Offer Hope
The poultry industry’s genetic engineering practices cause extreme suffering in fast-growing breeds. Some European companies and grocery stores committed to switching to slower-growing breeds with fewer health problems, reducing the pain for hundreds of millions of chickens annually. This represents a small but significant step towards mitigating the systemic cruelty embedded in industrial farming.
Despite these wins, animal suffering remains widespread. However, the progress made in 2024 proves that even powerful industries can be pressured to change through sustained advocacy, technological innovation, and evolving consumer demands. These victories, though incremental, offer a glimmer of hope for a more compassionate future.
