2022

Annual Report

Together, we’re ending some of the cruelest forms of suffering in our food system.

Letter from the president

Thanks to your support, we’ve united changemakers, both in the US and across the globe, to create a formidable force for change.

– Vicky Bond
President, The Humane League
Read the full letter

2022 by the numbers

2022 by the Numbers

65
companies promised to end the worst abuses of chickens raised for meat

174
companies made new promises to free hens from extreme confinement

71
in the US, UK, and México fulfilled or began reporting on their cage-free commitments

Thank you, Changemakers!

Over 40K donations

made by 15K THL supporters

256K grassroots actions

taken by 71K changemakers

5,600,000

Egg-laying hens' lives will be improved each year through our US corporate campaigns alone because of the cage-free commitments we secured in 2022.

Meaningful Milestones

The world’s five largest

foodservice companies promised to do better for animals. Read more

The strongest farm animal protection law in the US,

California’s Prop 12, went into partial effect on January 1. Read more

Over 500 companies

have committed to improving the lives of billions of chickens raised for meat every year. Read more

The Open Wing Alliance surpassed 3,000

corporate commitments to spare chickens from some of the worst forms of abuse. Read more

The 1st commitment

from a global restaurant group based in Asia was made to free hens from cages. Read more

THE TOP TWO PHARMACY CHAINS IN THE WORLD

abandoned their use of cages in the US, three years ahead of schedule. Read more

We changed the future of foodservice

sixteen

foodservice providers, including the top five in the world agreed to our demands. For the animals, it’s nothing short of life-changing.

THL UK made groundbreaking progress for the animals

Following conversations with, and a campaign by THL UK, Starbucks pledged to improve the welfare of chickens raised for meat. The world’s largest coffee chain adopted the Better Chicken Commitment across all 1,000+ of their UK stores!

Waitrose became the first UK supermarket to publicly support Beatrice’s Bill, THL UK’s campaign to free hens from abusive cages, for good. The bill was introduced in Parliament in 2022 and could make caging for egg-laying hens in the UK a nightmare of the past.

Get the latest scoop on THL UK’s relentless work for the animals at thehumaneleague.org.uk/sign-up

Accountability matters, and you made it happen.

The world's biggest meal kit delivery company

failed to make meaningful progress on its promise to end some of the cruelest forms of animal abuse, until now. HelloFresh joined over 500 companies that have committed to improving the lives of chickens raised for meat.

Together, we’re building a resilient movement.

twelve

member groups made up the inaugural Animal Policy Alliance, launched in 2022 to empower smaller groups in the animal movement to achieve legislative wins for farmed animals in their own communities.

APA logo

I’m so pleased that The Humane League is expanding its work on policy. We and the animals are fortunate to have THL bringing its expertise and resources to fight back.

Caryn Ginsberg THL supporter since 2011

In other policy work

We teamed up with several animal groups to mount a powerful defense of California’s Prop 12, a law that was overwhelmingly voted into place in 2018. Considered one of the strongest animal protection laws in the world, Prop 12 was challenged numerous times by the pork industry, and finally wended its way to the Supreme Court. Together, we have defended the law at every level---and won---and will continue to defend Prop 12 against the pork industry’s attack.

Arizona became the tenth cage-free state. As part of a powerful coalition of animal advocacy organizations, we provided testimony and harnessed the power of THL’s Fast Action Network, culminating in Arizona’s statewide ban of both production and sales of eggs laid by hens in battery cages.

For email updates on Prop 12, and to take action in your state, visit thehumaneleague.org/take-action.

open wing alliance

We envision a global movement that is as inclusive as it is effective.

As our international Open Wing Alliance has grown, and our corporate targets have become increasingly global in nature, THL has responded by coalescing several teams into a coordinated whole—our new Global Programs department. Global Programs allows us to act more strategically, and take our international campaigns to the next level.

Ultimately, we want local changemakers—anywhere in the world—to have the tools and resources they need to launch effective campaigns for animals.

global stats

95
OWA members across 67 countries worked together to build a cage-free future.

21
global companies started reporting progress towards eliminating cages for egg-laying hens.

14
new global companies committed to removing cages for hens.

We’re pushing back on factory farming everywhere

Major corporations continue to aggressively invest in bringing factory farming to Africa, but we won’t stand for this kind of animal abuse. In 2022, building our internal infrastructure to better support Africa’s growing network for OWA organizations was critical.

OWA Africa Pick n Pay protest

And we’re holding countries accountable

Although México weighs in as the world’s #1 egg consumer per capita, it’s missing one key ingredient: regulatory standards that establish criteria for cage-free and free-range egg production.

To advance the most crucial step towards eliminating cages in México, THL México launched an aggressive campaign this year that calls on the Mexican government to create a cage-free Norma Oficial Méxicana (a Mexican Official Standard, known in Spanish as a NOM).

Delivering scientific expertise to animal advocates around the globe

In 2022 we built upon our commitment to changemakers around the globe with the introduction of THL’s Global Animal Welfare Team. They’ve advised industries and governments on scientifically-backed, higher welfare standards for animals raised for food. Now they join THL in our fight to end the abuse of animals around the globe.

3,000 Commitments and Counting

to end the worst abuses chickens experience on factory farms. Billions of egg-laying hens and chickens raised for meat have been promised better futures through the relentless work of our OWA members, and your support of this growing global coalition.

3
regional summits hosted by the OWA in Latin America, Asia and Africa

55
countries participated in the OWA's virtual Global Summit

14
trainings and webinars hosted for OWA members

Two hard-hitting investigations help millions of chickens

Reports The Open Wing Alliance’s impact this year was catalyzed by two major report drops—the Global Travel Report and Restaurant Report. These new investigative reports put added pressure on industries that perpetuate some of the worst forms of animal abuse.

WE WENT BIG INVITING THE WORLD’S LARGEST AND MOST PROFITABLE COMPANIES TO MAKE A GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO HENS

In 2022, the OWA secured a first-of-its-kind commitment from TORIDOLL in Japan. TORIDOLL is the parent company to several global restaurant chains. TORIDOLL’s promise marks the OWA’s first cage-free commitment from a company headquartered in Asia and will apply to its over 1,000 restaurants across 27 countries and regions.

Changemakers are demanding that companies free hens in every region, country, and continent in which they operate—and our voices are being heard!

In 2022, the OWA awarded $2,100,000

in grants to 40+ groups across the globe, with an additional $1.3 million committed to these organizations in 2023.

FINANCIAL REPORT

Program Areas

Global Programs & Grants 31%
Education & Awareness 29%
International 24%
US Public Policy & Corporate Engagement 16%

GLOBAL EXPENSE ALLOCATION

United States $12,462,000

Global° $4,601,000

United Kingdom $1,974,000

México $1,500,000

Japan $195,000

°35 countries funded through OWA grants

Expense Efficiency

Programs 73%

Fundraising 9%

Management & general 18%

At the heart of our mission is you.

A very special, heartfelt thank you to our Mended Heart Society partners, who create transformative change for animals through gifts of $2500 and up, and our Legacy Society members, who have helped ensure that progress for the animals will continue for generations to come. Thank you!