This year, too, the time has come to take stock. And for Essere Animali, it has been a year full of major results and new projects. Although we have put in a great deal of passion and dedication, we also have each and every one of you to thank for these results: everyone who participates in our activities, sends a protest email, signs a petition, makes a donation or simply shares a video to help raise awareness.
Thank you to everyone who chose to be with us on the side of the animals in 2022!
OUT INVESTIGATIVE TEAM
NEVER STOPS
INVESTIGATIONS THAT LEFT THEIR MARK
In 2022, we released 9 investigations showing serious problems on farms rearing chickens, rabbits, fish, pigs and quails, as well as in the transport of animals.
97 CHECKS
Once again this year, the investigation team never stopped, carrying out a very high number of checks on farms and trucks used for transport, chosen at random or following reports.
80 days
in the field
Our investigators spent 80 days directly in the field, to document and file complaints regarding animal suffering.
Our investigations on TV
Once again this year, the images taken by our investigation team were broadcast numerous times on TV, reaching a total of 8 million viewers.
We also accompanied reporters inside factory farms and contributed to the realisation of investigations and television broadcasts for programmes such as #Cartabianca, Filorosso and Mi manda Raitre.
SOME OF THE MEDIA THAT HAVE TALKED ABOUT US
GREATER JUSTICE FOR ANIMALS
The work of our legal department continues alongside the investigation work, and this year it can be summarised with the following numbers:
- 5 complaints and claims filed
- 1 committal for trial
- 6 convictions and penalties
- +320,000 animals on farms involved in our legal actions
CHANGING LAWS
AND COMPANY POLICIES
FUR FREE EUROPE
Together with dozens of organisations across Europe, coordinated by Eurogroup for Animals, we launched the ambitious Fur Free Europe campaign, a European Citizens’ Initiative that calls for a ban not only on raising animals for fur but also on the fur trade across the entire continent. In just a few months, more than 1.1 million signatures have already been collected and the success of the initiative will save about 18 million animals a year.
SUCCESSFUL #LIESONTHELABEL CAMPAIGN
Together with other Italian associations, we launched the #BugieInEtichetta (#LiesOnTheLabel) campaign to prevent products from standard factory farms from being certified with the ‘animal welfare’ brand. This year, after numerous protests, the text brought by the Government to the State-Regions Conference included some positive changes to the decree and some of our requests. A positive first step.
EUROPEAN CHICKEN COMMITMENT
We have joined the Open Wing Alliance, a global coalition created to end the cruellest practices of the poultry industry, and together with numerous European organisations we have also launched a campaign directed at Lidl supermarkets asking them to join the European Chicken Commitment, a commitment with requirements that aim to reduce the suffering of chickens.
End the Cage Age
The Italian coalition End the Cage Age was set up this year to lobby the Italian government to support the European Citizens’ Initiative calling for the elimination of the use of cages on farms. We disseminated two new investigations to reveal the serious problems related to the use of cages on rabbit and quail farms, and jointly organised a conference in Rome at which the possibility of transitioning to a cage-free system was presented.
TRANSPORT CHECKS
The European Commission is working on new rules relating to the transport of animals and, to show how greatly stricter measures are required, we carried out transport checks three times this year. At Easter and Christmas we documented the long-distance journeys to which hundreds of thousands of imported lambs are subjected each year, also with the participation of MEP Eleonora Evi, and in summer we filmed pigs being transported in extreme heat.
CHANGE YOUR DIET
to save animals and the environment
Veganuary: ITALY ON THE FRONT LINES
Veganuary is the largest global campaign for promoting a vegan lifestyle, which last year saw 629,000 subscribers and hundreds of companies promote it. Since we brought Veganuary to Italy, the interest has been growing and last January the Italian participation was incredible: fifth country globally in terms of the number of registrations, with Milan ranking third city in the world. In addition, we collaborated with no less than 45 companies that launched new products, introduced offers and promoted plant-based nutrition during the month of January.
FOOD TRAINING AND MORE PLANT-BASED CANTEENS
By means of our MenoPerPiù (LessForMore) project, we have trained chefs and offered our recipes to increase the plant-based offerings of canteens in 2 companies and 1 university. We also collaborated with the University of Florence on an event in which we participated and where the canteen was completely plant-based. We also carried out training courses within 3 other companies on the impact of food.
CANTEENS FOR CLIMATE
With the new “Canteens for climate” campaign launched by MenoPerPiù, we are involving the university population and launching an appeal to ask for dishes with a low environmental impact in the canteens of Italian universities. Our goal is for at least 50% of the menus to be plant-based and in addition to the petition, which has already collected 7,100 signatures, we have numerous other initiatives in store.
THE SUCCESS OF OUR VEG WEEK
This year, Settimana Veg – our project that encourages people to try a week of plant-based eating – surpassed every record and had almost 25,000 registrations. Over the years, more than 200,000 people have participated in this initiative and it has always been very successful, with 98-99% of participants stating once again this year that they found it a positive experience and would recommend it.
Io scelgo veg
Our website IoScelgoVeg (IChooseVeg) has become a reference point in Italy over the years, so much so that in 2022 it had over 530,000 visitors. However, the project has expanded and now also has an Instagram page with more than 55,000 followers, as well as a very popular podcast. This year, three new recipe booklets were also produced and the very useful guides to vegan products were updated.
WE HAVE JOINED A NEW COALITION
The European Alliance for Plant-based Foods (EAPF) is a network that brings together organisations and companies that are interested in promoting plant-based nutrition and putting it at the centre of the transition towards a more sustainable food system. Together with this coalition, we will be able to contribute to important campaigns for the future of plant-based food in Europe.
RAISING AWARENESS
to reach people's hearts
A YOUTUBER ON A FARM
Sascha, known on social networks as Anima, is a young YouTuber with over 3.5 million followers who wanted to show everyone the reality of factory farming. He therefore accompanied us to a pig farm one evening and, in addition to documenting the conditions of the animals, he told his audience about his experience and above all about his emotions and sensations.
OUR DOCUMENTARY IN CINEMAS
This year saw the release of our first documentary. It’s called “Speck, a Changed Destiny” and tells the story of a pig factory farm told through the eyes of a hidden camera and the words of an undercover investigator. The short film has been presented at film festivals in Poland, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Canada and Italy. At the prestigious Visioni Italiane festival, in Bologna, it even won an honourable mention. It will soon be released online.
OUR SERIES ON YOUTUBE
On our YouTube channel this year, we started to create new, inspiring videos with interesting formats that are able to reach a new audience. These include “Vegan People”, based on interviews with 44 different people, “Goggi Berries”, in which Dr. Silvia Goggi explores nutritional themes, and “The secret recipes”, which lead the viewer to discover places in which some plant-based products are made in a special way. The channel has allowed us to reach over 10 million users and get 1.5 million video views.
Alcuni numeri del 2022
Together with our volunteers, we have carried out numerous activities including actions, handing out flyers, public events and protests, and thousands of you have participated in online mobilisations for numerous campaigns aimed at both companies and institutions. We also organised the wonderful festival Viva Las Vegan in Milan.
Together, we are stronger!