We are an international organization which helps animals, particularly farmed animals, as effectively as possible. To help us achieve our goal we use scientific evidence, careful reasoning and decades of experience.
We are impact oriented and use a wide array of tools to make the world a better place. Our current toolkit includes:
- groundbreaking global investigations which expose animal suffering hidden behind the walls of factory farms,
- negotiations with companies to make them ban the most cruel practices,
- advocacy to secure legal milestones for animals,
- influencing markets to introduce animal-friendly approaches,
- in addition to this, we work to strengthen the capacity of the animal advocacy movement.
Anima International Organizational Updates
We’re hiring in France – final days to apply
We’re looking for three people to join our team in France as a:
All roles are remote, 40h/week. Must be based in France. Working languages: French and English. Applications deadline – Sunday, 19 July (inclusive)
Learn more and applyUpdate on our UK chicken welfare campaign
As we reported last month, we launched one of our biggest and most ambitious campaigns to date, targeting the UK sandwich chain Pret A Manger, after it broke its 2018 commitment to stop selling fast-growing chickens by 2026. Instead of working with us to take concrete steps towards this goal, Pret has pushed the deadline to 2032 with no interim steps until 2031, leading us to conclude that it had no intention of delivering on the commitment.
The initial campaign activity has centred on a giant animatronic "Frankenwrap" sculpture – a car-sized frankenchicken replica stuffed inside a Pret wrap. The actions have gone viral as we continue to tour Pret cafes in London reaching out to the public. Alongside newspaper ads, celebrity endorsement, and ads on the London Underground courtesy of Project Slingshot, the campaign has amassed around 20M social media views, viral Reddit posts, and over 150 media appearances including The Times, The Guardian's Photo Of The Day, and LBC Radio.
Four weeks in, 70k people have signed our pledge to “take a break from Pret” until it produces a credible plan to phase out fast-growing chickens bred to suffer.
EU animal welfare policy: 5 years since the EU pledge to ban cages, new Livestock Strategy released.
On June 30th, Anima International on behalf of the End the Cage Age coalition staged a visual action outside the European Commission building in Brussels to mark exactly five years since the Commission’s public commitment to proposing EU-wide legislation banning cages for farmed animals.
Alongside the animal advocacy groups gathered at the event, seven MEPs from six member countries attended and spoke in support. The action was also noticed by the Health and Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, as well as the Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
Since the action, the EC has released a new Livestock Strategy, which outlines the timeline for proposing new animal welfare legislation:
The legislation, when introduced, will improve the lives of around 160 million animals confined in cages, and prevent the suffering of around 330 million day-old chicks per year in the EU alone.
Anima International updates
UK campaign to end the suffering of fast-growing chickens
In the UK, we launched a major campaign targeting Pret A Manger over its broken promise to stop selling fast-growing chickens.
The company publicly committed to drop fast-growing chicken from their products in 2018, with a 2026 deadline. But they recently published a roadmap extending breed change to 2032 – a timeline we don’t consider credible and are not endorsing, given no progress made in the past 8 years.
During the pre-public phase of the campaign, we sent 600 letters to Pret store managers, and visited 201 Pret stores across Greater London to speak with staff. We are now increasing the pressure with a dedicated mobilization website, highly visible outdoor advertising, media ads, and public stunts involving a gigantic mechanical frankenchicken sculpture. We’re prepared to maintain our actions until Pret presents a realistic plan with a near-term fulfilment deadline.
France – Progress towards the end of cages for hens
In France, where we work with wholesalers and public catering companies to end the sale of eggs from caged hens, we published a report tracking their progress towards 100% cage-free egg supply.
We’re seeing promising improvements across both sectors. The market share of cage-free eggs in out-of-home foodservice rose from 33% in 2024 to 42.3% in 2025, with many individual companies showing steeper progress (Pomona – 37% to 87%, Sysco – 29.5% to 52.8%, Pro à Pro 34% to nearly 60%). Six wholesalers have published transparent roadmaps to phasing out cage eggs by 2029, with several other companies expected to follow later this year. The transition is more advanced in the collective catering sector – five of the 14 companies have already phased out caged eggs, and others made significant progress (for example Newrest, from just 7% in 2024 to 60%)
The transition of wholesalers and collective catering to cage-free eggs is essential to eliminating cage hen farming in France. Implementation of these roadmaps will affect 1.5–2M hens alive at any given time.
Opportunities
Conference on Animal Rights in Europe (CARE) 2026 – tickets now on sale
Tickets for CARE 2026 are now available with a 35% Early Bird discount until June 30th. This is your chance to secure your spot at the lowest price. You can also buy a CARE Supporter pass and help subsidize tickets for those who are facing financial barriers.
Get your tickets hereWe hope you can join us in Warsaw, September 17–20 along with hundreds of other animal advocates and organizations working to improve the world for animals. If you can’t make it in person, join us online via Swapcard from wherever you are.
Action in Brussels to push for an EU-wide ban on cages for farmed animals
On June 30, Anima International, on behalf of the End the Cage Age coalition, is staging a visual action in Brussels to mark five years since the European Commission committed to proposing legislation banning cages for farmed animals. The commitment came in response to the End the Cage Age European Citizens' Initiative signed by 1.4 million Europeans. It was one of the largest ECI ever submitted, but the legislation still hasn't been proposed.
The action will feature a large cage installation outside the Commission building, with actors styled as Commission staff sitting at a boardroom table inside. Members of the European Parliament from several member countries confirmed their attendance. The action will highlight the Commission’s democratic failure and urge them to deliver on their commitment to European citizens and millions of animals suffering in cages.
If you’re in Brussels, feel free to join us between 10:30 and 12:30 in front of the European Commission building.
Anima International Organization Updates:
Anima International Fellowship 2026
A reminder that applications for the Anima International Fellowship close on May 17th. The Fellowship is a fully funded 3-week in-person program for those considering working in effective animal advocacy. It will take place in Warsaw, September 1–20. We cover flights, accommodation, meals, and participation in the CARE Conference + offer a €1,500–€3,500 stipend. It’s open for applicants worldwide, no prior advocacy experience required.
CARE Conference 2026
You can apply for travel support to attend CARE Conference 2026 (Warsaw, September 17–20). If you want to attend CARE but the cost of travel is stopping you, we may be able to help. We review support requests on a rolling basis, so please apply as early as possible. Applications close July 1st.
In March our Polish team launched biznesbezklatek.pl (business without cages) which tracks the status of ~150 companies who have committed to phasing out caged eggs. Over the past decade in Poland, the percentage of hens outside of cages has tripled from 13% to 39%. The launch received media coverage including a live segment on national morning television.
Some recent individual wins: Aldi Poland is now confirmed 100% cage-free, following through on a commitment made in 2016. Polomarket, a mid-size retailer, phased out fresh caged eggs affecting roughly 64,000 hens per year. Finally, Eurocash, one of Poland's largest wholesale distributors, confirmed in writing that it will phase out all fresh cage eggs by 2026 and processed eggs from own-brand products by 2027.
In the UK, we attended a roundtable with government ministers following the release of the UK's animal welfare strategy. Ministers expressed confidence that the cage ban will be implemented and called recent Better Chicken Commitment withdrawals and the new Sustainable Chicken Forum (a business-led alternative) "disgraceful."
We launched the Anima International Fellowship - a paid 3-week in-person program starting in September for people who are highly aligned with the animal cause area and are considering a career in advocacy. Fellows will work alongside Anima staff on real organisational challenges, develop campaign and critical thinking skills, and finish by attending CARE Conference 2026. No experience or specific background required. Applications close May 17th.
Speaking of CARE, the deadline to apply as a speaker has been extended to the 14th of April, so if you’re reading this soon after posting you may still have time to apply. The conference takes place from the 17th to the 20th of September and we’re looking to hear about topics such as campaign strategy, cause prioritization, fundraising, movement building, AI and organizational culture.
Finally, in late March we published “The good, the bad, and the fair cop” by our own Toby Schiønning, one of the co-founders of Anima International. In the article he introduces the idea of a 'fair cop' approach – a middle ground (but not a compromise) between aggressive public campaigning and passive negotiations with companies. The core argument is that campaigners can be tough and confrontational while still being seen as reasonable by the companies they're pressuring, and that this combination is what actually moves corporations to act.
Fulfilling their commitment to phase out caged-eggs, made at the start of our cage-free campaign in 2016, Lidl Poland (the second-largest retailer) has announced that they are now 100% cage-free, affecting millions of hens annually.
To hold retailers accountable to their pledge to stop selling caged eggs by 01/01/26, our French team recently published an investigation into supermarkets that still sell caged eggs, which garnered significant national media attention. We estimate that between TV, radio and online coverage the news of the investigation will have reached several million people. The pressure from this prompted multiple responses from the retailers to the media about their cage-free commitments.
Our UK team, formerly known as Open Cages, has rebranded as Anima, reflecting their role as part of Anima International which is active across six countries and focused on the highest-impact interventions for animals. Our UK work remains centred on eliminating fast-growing chicken breeds, which currently account for ~90% of the over one billion chickens raised in the UK annually.
The animal advocacy movement in Central Asia is small but developing. Together with our partners in Kazakhstan, we announced the second annual conference on animal advocacy in Central Asia (CAAAF — Central Asian Animal Advocacy Forum), taking place on 04/04/2026.
Jobs
Anima International is hiring for a Campaigner in Denmark (hybrid, salary DKK 26,500–36,000). Find out more and apply by February 22nd.
Updates
Opportunity for action
The European Commission is expected to respond to the Fur Free Europe European Citizen Initiative by the end of March. Despite the recent ban in Poland (EU’s largest fur producer), the Commission is considering regulations that will not meaningfully address the suffering of animals farmed for fur. Send an email to the Commissioners in support of an EU-wide ban on fur farming and import of fur products.
Thank you for posting this @PabloAMC 🔸. In addition to the video linked in the post, we just published @Jakub Stencel's blog article with more context about the consultation. We do encourage everyone to take some time to respond.
Yes, all four stages before the interview (application, video call, role-specific tasks, and reference check) are eliminatory. However, we don't have a fixed quota of candidates who advance to each subsequent stage. We advance everyone who meets our quality threshold criteria at each stage, rather than selecting only a predetermined number of top performers.
Anima International is looking for a Global Campaign Manager to help us figure out the most effective campaign strategies to mobilize and lead activists across the globe to create a change for animals, and a Global Growth Manager to increase Anima International’s effectiveness through its international growth.
Salary: The minimum salary (the salary base) varies depending on your place of residence. We aim for the salary base to be around the median of salaries in the country. For example, in the UK the base salary is GBP 36,954.48 gross/year and in Poland, it’s PLN 6385,24 PLN gross/month. Your salary may change due to your previous experience related to the position and activism (+3% for each year). In addition, the salary increases with your seniority in Anima International according to the following model:
+ 7% – for every year worked at Anima International during the first 5 years of work
+ 5% – for every year worked at Anima International during the next 5 years of work
+ 3% – for every year worked at Anima International during the next 5 years of work
+ 2% – for every year worked at Anima International during the next years of work
Location: fully remote, we will consider applicants from across the world, provided that they are willing to travel on average 6–8 times per year and be flexible in terms of time differences.
Apply here by 17 March 2024, 11:59 PM CET
Suggested skills and/or requirements:
Global Growth Manager: You will both establish and grow Anima International teams around the globe. You will help member groups of Anima International be more effective, training them in aspects of a broad skill set, from campaigning or conducting investigations to fundraising and management. So useful skills include:
Nice-to-haves include experience of leading teams, basic fundraising and/or media experience, but do not hesitate to apply if you do not have this experience. We are open to hiring for senior and junior positions.
Global Campaign Manager: You’ll be coordinating our campaigns in coalitions, training our campaigners, and thinking critically about the campaigns we are doing – and not doing. So useful skills and traits include:
Nice-to-haves include experience covering a lot of aspects of organizational work, like marketing, fundraising, multimedia production, etc., and how they work together with campaigns.
More about these positions: We’re expecting to have a hard time hiring for this role – please apply if you’re not sure, and share the role with people who might be interested! All the details are available here for the Global Campaign Manager and here for the Global Growth Manager. The application deadline is 17 March, 11:59 CET, and the application form is here.
Anima International is hiring for two positions in its UK branch (Open Cages) as its 2nd and 3rd employees - links below. For more information on the recruitment and open positions read this blog post.
We are looking for:
Additionally, we are going to open 4 international positions (for our movement building and global multimedia teams) later this year. Those positions will be listed on our Jobs page.