Campaign Successes 2010
2010 has been an exciting year for campaigning and it’s only been possible with the enthusiasm and efforts put in by all our dedicated supporters. Thousands of you have given your time in support of our various campaigns. Here are our top five campaign successes for 2010.
New homes for the Amersham Horses
In January 2008 more than 100 horses, ponies and donkeys were removed from horrific conditions at Spindle Farm near Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
In June this year, once the court case was over, we began the search for permanent new owners for the horses we have been looking after at our animal centres across England and Wales.
Thanks to the success of our Amersham Horses Rehoming Appeal, we have now found special new homes not only for all of the Amersham horses, but also for another 80 horses and ponies in our care.
This has been one of our biggest investigations ever. We’ve been really touched by the phenomenal public response to the whole campaign and thank everybody who applied to rehome a horse, donated, raised awareness and shared the story with friends online.
More about the Amersham Horses appeal
Back off badgers
Our Back off badgers campaign has been running for four years and sadly in 2010, badgers in England and Wales are again under threat of being culled to prevent the spread of bovine TB.
September saw the launch of a public consultation into whether farmers should be allowed to cull badgers in parts of England as part of a package of measures to control bovine TB in cattle. And the public response has been huge!
You’ve acted in your thousands to oppose the Government’s badger cull plans. So far we’ve received just under 40,000 submissions opposing a badger cull in England from members of the public. Many of you also sent your consultation responses directly to Defra and we eagerly await the outcome. We’ll update you as soon as we hear more news.
Putting farm animal welfare first!
2010 really has been a tough year on many fronts and we’ve all felt the recession bite. However it’s heartening to see that, despite financial pressures, consumers are still supporting higher welfare farming.
In March we reported a £55.2 million increase in consumer spending on Freedom Food labelled chicken since March 2009.* This compares to a drop of more than £26 million for ‘standard’ chicken - proof that animal welfare is still on the shopping list of even the most budget-conscious consumers.
We’ve seen the number of pigs reared to RSPCA welfare standards under the Freedom Food scheme dramatically increase by 26 per cent over the last two years. That’s 400,000 more pigs having a better life under Freedom Food. It just goes to show the power that shoppers have to make real changes to animals’ lives through what they choose to buy.
In 2005 cage-free eggs (barn and free range) accounted for 37 per cent of all eggs produced. In 2010, this has gone up to 49 per cent, almost at the halfway mark! A fantastic achievement. In addition 98 per cent of all cage-free eggs are Freedom Food.
More about Freedom Food chicken sales
More about Freedom Food pork sales
* Source: Kantar Worldpanel
The Big Stop
Many people don’t realise that some circuses in the UK still use wild animals. The Government agreed to consider a complete ban in England in March 2010 and published the initial results of a public consultation.
Thousands of our supporters took the time to fill in the consultation and to forward it on to their friends to complete.
The brilliant news is that 94 per cent of all respondents supported a ban and the Government in England has committed to announce its position on circuses in early 2011 so watch this space. It is expected that the Welsh Government will announce its position in 2011.
Clearer labels for sausages!
A huge step forward for pig welfare was achieved this year with the new voluntary code of practice for labelling pork and pork products. As well as clarifying country of origin and breed labelling, now production method terms such as ‘free-range’, ‘outdoor reared’ and ‘outdoor bred’ consistently relate to the same on-farm standards if the brand/supermarket has signed up to the code.
This breakthrough was the result of years of work from our science team with the pig industry and the Government. It is also the result of continued pressure from consumers who demand clear and consistent labelling and keep supporting higher welfare farming. It’s another great demonstration of consumer power in practice.
