Comments
The ambition and execution your team has continues to inspire me.Looking forward to seeing this continue!
Animal Welfare League 2024 Review and 2025 Plans
17 min readFeb 19, 2025
21
The ambition and execution your team has continues to inspire me.Looking forward to seeing this continue!
Thank you Alex for the continual support.
Your work and the results you achieve never fail to inspire me; fantastic pioneering work in Ghana & beyond.
Thank you Mia
Executive summary: In 2024, the Animal Welfare League (AWL) expanded its farm animal welfare initiatives across Africa, securing corporate cage-free commitments, engaging egg producers, launching consumer awareness campaigns, and advancing research and policy. In 2025, AWL plans to scale its impact by expanding its cage-free directory, conducting pan-African research, and strengthening corporate and government collaborations.
Key points:
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.
In this comprehensive recap, we reflect on Animal Welfare League’s work throughout 2024, share our vision for 2025 and beyond. This effort is part of our dedication to open communication, enabling our partners, donors, and other supporters to learn about our achievements, challenges, and strategic goals, as well as to offer feedback on our future direction.
We are making strategic changes to our mission and scope of work. Animal Welfare League is now wholly dedicated to farm animal welfare in Africa. We have streamlined our focus to improving chicken and fish welfare in Africa (we are deeply sorry to all the other species suffering that we are too unpowered to help at the moment).
Due to this change, our staff is now divided into Outreach and Consulting teams for projects on chicken and fish welfare, a central administrative team, and a future affiliated research program. We will actively collaborate with stakeholders in South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Ghana to promote farm animal welfare in Africa.
We have added Jayasimha Nuggehalli, Co-founder & COO of Global Food Partners, to our advisory board. Jayasimha’s addition comes at a crucial time as we grow our program to three other African countries. Read more here.
We continue to employ our four-pronged strategy, which consists of corporate outreach, egg producers’ engagement, raising consumer awareness, and advocating for policy to alleviate the suffering of hens in Ghana and across Africa.
We have continued to make progress on corporate outreach both locally (in Ghana) and as the OWA Africa Global Outreach Strategy Leader, holding global companies operating in Africa accountable and equitable to farm animal welfare policies.
In 2024, we held meetings with 18 local food and hospitality companies, including seven of the top ten rated restaurants in Accra by Google and Trip Advisor. We also participated in three events organized by the Ghana Hotels Association. We gave presentations to over 100 executive directors of hotels in Ghana, pushing for an industry change towards higher welfare products and presented awards at the Ghana Hotels Association biennial awards event to the Green Hotel of the Year Category. Our outreach strategy remained the same but was improved following collaborative training from User Friendly.
We have secured three cage-free commitments from Accra City Hotel, Sannak Hotel, and Sky Plus Hotel & Resorts. These commitments are 100% fulfilled as they are supplied by egg producers on the National Cage-Free Farmers Network, except for the supplier of Accra City Hotel.
On regional fronts, as the OWA Africa Global Outreach Strategy Leader, we conducted comprehensive company profiling of 50 global companies operating in Africa, tracking their cage-free status in Africa and dividing them into four color codes. We also revised our strategy and identified targets for the year, to which we developed an annual action plan with monthly quotas. As a result, we had active outreach and engagements with companies sending close to 600 emails. Our primary target was seeking regional reporting of Kempinski Hotel cage-free progress, which was achieved even though it was not as we hoped, together with other groups participating in the Mercy for Animals Egg-quity Index. We also mobilized African groups and participated in the following Open Wing Alliance campaigns: Heartless, Foul Food and Kewpie.
In terms of the number of hens impacted by our corporate outreach work this year, we estimate about 521 hens are directly affected by the Accra City Hotel’s commitment and indirectly about 6,479 hens, the reported farm total production of their supplier annually. Note: The Accra City Hotel egg supplier is not included in our network, but they agreed to our unannounced visits to confirm they are only using cage-free housing. To avoid double counting of impact, we will not count the number of hens affected by the other two commitments fulfilled by egg producers in our directory. We do not have estimates for the humber of hens impacted by our regional work yet.
AWL Corporate Outreach Staff with a staff from Accra City Hotel
We organised two egg producers’ workshops in 2024 at Bono and Volta regions which allowed us to welcome 61 new producers to the National Cage-Free Farmers Network. As a result, per reported productions of the 61 producers, about 504,575 hens are also now committed to cage-free housing in Ghana. This brings the total number of hens now committed to cage-free housing in Ghana to 873,685 through our Cage-free Farmers Network and Directory. These workshops conclude our regional outreach to egg producers in the key poultry production zones in Ghana.
In their commitments, the egg producers agree to AWL operating policies including:
We also signed a memorandum of understanding with Agro Innova Company Limited. Registered in Ghana, Agro Innova leverages climate-smart, farmer-centered digital innovations to improve food security and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across Africa. Agro Innova supports both small-scale and commercial poultry farmers through an online platform that connects farmers to markets and provides verified and safe products, including eggs, to businesses. In 2024, Agro Innova was a primary egg supplier to some of the biggest supermarket chains and hotels in Ghana and supplied an average of 15 million eggs per month.
We interviewed some egg producers on the National Cage-Free Farmers Network to better understand what part of the message played a major part in their decision to commit to cage-free housing. The data shows that 92.3% committed to staying cage-free due to animal welfare concerns and 27.3% for economic reasons). The farmers were able to mention the five freedoms of animal welfare that their hens were enjoying, such as the expression of normal behavior (100%), freedom from discomfort (30.8%), and hunger and thirst (15.4%). Other layered questions corroborated the findings that animal welfare was the major factor that made the farmers stay cage-free. Also, 38.5% of the surveyed egg producers reported that they had changed their minds about expanding to include battery cages in the past year as a result of AWL’s intervention. See more in the Appendix.
In terms of the number of hens impacted by our producer engagement work in 2024, we estimate a total of 1,287,183 hens. This is from the additional 504,575 hens in the cage-free farmers’ network and 782,608 hens in Agro Innova’s supply chain.
A group photo of AWL staff and participants of our volta egg producer workshop
In 2024, our egg producers workshops were broadcasted on multiple national television channels, including Joy News, Citi TV/FM, TV3, and Onua TV. Together with our volunteers, we also took over 500 social media actions, generating over 54,000 impressions across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
AWL Director speaking to the media about welfare issues in the poultry sector
Through a partnership with User-Friendly, we developed an advertisement video to pilot a media campaign in Ghana to raise public awareness. In this pilot campaign being executed in 2025, we are running an evaluated video advertisement through two national television media houses and three selected social media platforms for three months. An evaluation of the effects of the advertisement was measured, and its performance and reactions are being tracked. We will publish a blog post on the Animal Charity Evaluators website with our findings when the pilot is over.
We signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ghana Standards Authority to support them in developing the country’s first national poultry standards. The standards will seek to establish requirements and guidelines for poultry production, most especially for chicken and egg production. In the agreement, we have agreed to two phases:
Phase One: Standards Development
1. Development of national standards for poultry production.
2. Development of an inspection manual.
3. Development of illustrative materials for the standards.
4. Amendment of egg labeling requirements.
Phase Two: Certification
1. Establishment of a certification scheme for poultry production.
AWL staff with staff of Ghana Standards Authority
We have conducted preliminary research involving over 1,600 pupils from sixteen schools across eight regions in Ghana. The aim was to assess the awareness, attitudes, and knowledge of school children regarding animal welfare. The manuscript for this study is being reviewed in a journal.
Poultry farmers’ perception of the cage and cage-free systems of production: All the sampled farmers had positive perceptions about animal welfare and acknowledged that proper handling of birds promotes their welfare and increases productivity and quality of eggs and meat. Interestingly, all the respondents (including the cage users) agreed that the deep litter system (cage-free) offered better housing in terms of ease of movement, thermal comfort, and comfort during the resting period
The cost and revenue of the cage and cage-free systems of production: The economic or financial indicators such as the net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), internal rate of returns (IRR), and payback periods were estimated to be GH₵132,873.68, 1.26, 91%, and 1.18 months, respectively, for the battery cage users. Similarly, the deep litter users recorded NPV, BCR, IRR, and payback periods of GH₵118,526.42, 1.23, 96%, and 1.14 months, respectively.
An estimate of the return on investment (ROI) and profitability of each of the farming systems: The results indicate that for every GH₵1.00 invested in layer poultry production, the cage users gained GH₵1.26 while the cage-free users gained GH₵1.23
The number of eggs produced per hen, body weight, growth rate and feed conversion ratio of each of the systems: The mortality rate of the birds, however, was about 4% higher in the deep litter houses compared to the battery cages. Additionally, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the birds raised under the deep litter system was 0.47 more than those in battery cages, indicating that the caged birds were more efficient in converting feed to eggs
The Herfindahl-Hirschman Indices (HHI) of 0.0077 and 0.0113 for cage and cage-free systems, respectively, suggested that the layer hen or egg markets in the study area were highly competitive during the period.
The researchers concluded that layer production under cage and cage-free systems was financially viable and resilient to market dynamics. They also concluded that the poultry farmers in the study area were aware of the animal welfare promotion benefits associated with cage-free systems; however, some were willing to compromise the birds' welfare to maximize the perceived “extra” financial benefits associated with the cage systems.
See more in the Appendix.
Strong Preference for Egg-Labeling System
A significant 68.2% of Ghanaian consumers indicated they will use an egg-labeling system that shows the welfare conditions under which eggs are produced. Additionally, 80.3% believe that such a system would be helpful to consumers. This suggests a widespread demand for transparency and information when making purchasing decisions. Implication: Policymakers have an opportunity to introduce a standardized egg-labeling system that could drive higher welfare standards across the industry.
Perception of Companies and Producers with Higher Welfare Standards
The study reveals mixed perceptions about producers and companies, with 25% of participants believing that these entities prioritize profits over animal welfare. Conversely, 43.0% strongly agreed that companies advocating for better animal treatment are taking the right approach. This highlights an opportunity for companies to build trust by adopting higher welfare standards and actively communicating these efforts. Implication: Companies that effectively integrate and market higher welfare practices can differentiate themselves, strengthen consumer trust, and potentially increase market share in a competitive industry.
Willingness to Pay for Higher Welfare Products
Consumer willingness to pay a premium for higher welfare products is divided, with 48.0% willing to pay more for cage-free or free-range eggs and 52.0% unwilling. Despite this price sensitivity, economic analysis reveals minimal differences (2.44%) in profitability between cage and cage-free systems, with the latter showing slightly shorter payback periods. Implication: Producers can leverage the already substantial portion of the population (5 in 10 Ghanaians) that is willing to pay more for cage-free eggs. They can also strategically position higher welfare products through targeted marketing that emphasizes minimal price differences and the added benefits of these products to the public. Coupled with consumer education on the advantages of higher welfare standards, such strategies could increase the willingness to pay and drive demand for welfare-friendly options.
Public Awareness and Education
While 50.6% of participants consider animal welfare in their purchasing decisions, a significant portion (28.1%) remains neutral about the inhumanity of caged systems. This neutrality suggests a lack of awareness or understanding of the ethical issues associated with certain production practices. Implication: There is a critical need for robust public education campaigns that clarify the ethical, environmental, and health issues associated with factory farming. Food businesses can play a role in addressing these gaps, which could influence consumer behavior, increase support for welfare-friendly products, and encourage more humane production practices within the industry.
A public document is being processed for publication.
Advocates from African groups participating in the International Training in Indonesia
AWL staff and former volunteer at AFAD 2024 Hanoi
At the end of 2023, we suggested things we would like to see happen in Africa, and we were happy to see much improvement in some of them in 2024. For instance, on training and support programs, we were excited about Thrive Africa Accelerator and Animal Advocacy Africa Training Program, while on movement building, we are excited about AVA Nairobi 2025.
We are interested in seeing more research on economics and financial aspects, government and policy, consumption and demand, and long-term public awareness interventions. AWL will actively pursue more research in Africa and is open to collaboration. Research questions we are excited about are:
In 2024, our total expenditure amounted to USD 215,000, which is 4 times that of the previous year. Contributing to this increase is the following: we raised more than 100% of our budget, paid full-time equivalent salaries for the first time, pursued a pilot media campaign, commissioned two academic studies, and coordinated a training program at Global Food Partners in Indonesia for 23 African animal advocates.
Over 97% of our funding came from philanthropic funders, and the remaining is through individual contributions. We saw an over 100% increase in individual contributions compared to 2023.
Notice: We are examining the risks of continuous public disclosure of funding and grant reporting as we expand operations into new countries. While it is uncertain at the moment, this may impact future public grant reporting; further updates will be provided as our review advances.
In 2024, we had five staff members with a staff capacity of 4.75 FTE. We also hired independent contractors in South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt, who will stay on part-time in 2025.
We extend a big thank you to everyone who enabled us to make progress in our work and achieve the impacts we have made. In particular, this includes our donors, advisors, and our friends and family who support us in working for this cause. Some listed below
It's a joy working with your team and seeing the progress you've made! Thank you for the special shout-out to The Mission Motor. We're here to help :-)