Laws & policy

What the law actually says about farmed animals, country by country

12 plain-language guides to welfare legislation, agricultural subsidies and plant-based labelling rules, each linked to the primary source so you can check it yourself.

Europe

Mostly B–C · 3/10 banned

European Union

The EU has the world's broadest body of farm animal welfare law: conventional battery cages, veal crates and sow stalls after the first four weeks of pregnancy are all prohibited, and animals are recognised as sentient beings in Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Enforcement and the pace of reform are the weak points, and a large share of the Common Agricultural Policy still supports livestock production. Plant-based products may be called 'burgers' and 'steaks' but may not be labelled 'milk', 'cheese' or 'yoghurt' following the TofuTown ruling.

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B · 5/10 banned

United Kingdom

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 imposes a duty of care on anyone responsible for an animal, and the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises vertebrates, cephalopods and decapod crustaceans as sentient. The UK banned sow stalls in 1999 and veal crates in 1990, ahead of the EU, but enriched cages for hens remain legal. Farm support is shifting from area-based payments to Environmental Land Management schemes that pay for public goods rather than hectares.

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C · 4/7 banned

Germany

Germany wrote animal protection into its constitution in 2002 and became one of the first countries to ban the culling of male chicks, effective 2022. A mandatory husbandry labelling law now requires pork sold in Germany to display how the animal was kept. Plant-based products follow EU dairy-name rules, but the German Food Code Commission has issued detailed guidance permitting meat-style names when the vegan nature is clear.

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D · 3/8 banned

France

France recognised animals as 'living beings endowed with sentience' in the Civil Code in 2015, and has banned wild animals in travelling circuses, mink farming and the culling of male chicks. It is also the world's largest foie gras producer, protected in law as part of the 'cultural and gastronomic heritage'. France has twice decreed a ban on meat names for plant-based products, and the Conseil d'État suspended both, referring the question to the EU Court of Justice.

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D · 0/7 banned

Spain

Spain's Law 7/2023 on the protection of animals was the country's first national animal welfare statute, but it excludes farmed animals, bullfighting and hunting dogs — the three largest categories by number. Animals were reclassified as sentient beings rather than objects in the Civil Code in 2021. Spain is the EU's largest pig producer, and the 'macrogranjas' debate over intensive units has driven new national rules on herd size, water and emissions.

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B · 2/6 banned

Netherlands

The Netherlands banned fur farming outright, closing the last mink farms in 2021, and operates the Beter Leven star system that has moved a large share of the domestic retail market above legal minimums. Its defining policy issue is nitrogen: court rulings forced the government to cut emissions, leading to voluntary livestock buy-out schemes worth billions of euros. It is also one of Europe's leading markets and research hubs for plant-based food.

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North America

D · 0/10 banned

United States

The United States has no general federal law governing how farm animals are raised: the Animal Welfare Act explicitly excludes farm animals used for food, and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act excludes poultry, which is over 90% of the animals killed. Protection therefore comes from state ballot measures — California's Proposition 12 and Massachusetts's Question 3 are the strongest — and from corporate purchasing commitments. More than a dozen states have passed laws restricting meat-style names on plant-based products, and several have been blocked by courts on First Amendment grounds.

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D · 2/8 banned

Canada

Canadian farm animal welfare rests mainly on voluntary Codes of Practice developed by the National Farm Animal Care Council, which become binding only where provinces reference them in legislation. Federal criminal law addresses wilful cruelty but exempts standard farming practice. Dairy, eggs and poultry operate under supply management with production quotas and tariff protection, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires plant-based analogues to carry a qualifying descriptor such as 'simulated'.

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Asia

C · 1/7 banned

India

India's constitution places a duty on citizens to show compassion to living creatures, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 is one of the world's oldest such statutes — though its maximum fines remained trivially low for decades. Cattle slaughter is restricted or banned in most states, with rules varying sharply between them. India is also the only country with mandatory vegetarian and non-vegetarian symbols on all packaged food, plus a dedicated FSSAI vegan logo introduced in 2022.

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Oceania

D · 2/7 banned

Australia

Animal welfare in Australia is regulated by states and territories, and every jurisdiction exempts practices carried out in accordance with industry Codes of Practice — so routine confinement, mulesing and beak trimming remain lawful. The federal government legislated in 2024 to end live sheep exports by sea from May 2028. A 2022 Senate inquiry recommended restricting meat-style names on plant-based products, but the government did not adopt mandatory restrictions.

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B · 5/7 banned

New Zealand

New Zealand amended its Animal Welfare Act in 2015 to explicitly recognise animals as sentient, and banned live export by sea in 2023 — although a subsequent government moved to reverse it. Conventional battery cages were phased out by the end of 2022, and mulesing is prohibited. Agricultural greenhouse gases, nearly half the national total, have been the subject of repeated and repeatedly delayed pricing schemes.

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South America

D · 0/7 banned

Brazil

Brazil's constitution prohibits practices that subject animals to cruelty, and a 1998 environmental crimes law makes abuse an offence, but farm animals are governed mainly by ministerial normative instructions rather than dedicated welfare statutes. Brazil is the world's largest beef exporter, supported by tens of billions of dollars in subsidised rural credit through the annual Plano Safra. Since 2023 the agriculture ministry has restricted the use of meat and dairy terms on plant-based products.

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Questions people ask

Are battery cages banned in the EU?

Conventional barren cages are, since 2012. Enriched cages giving each hen 750 cm² — a little more than an A4 sheet — are still legal in most member states, and hundreds of millions of hens remain in them.

Does UK law recognise animals as sentient?

Yes. The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 covers all vertebrates plus cephalopods and decapod crustaceans, and requires ministers to consider welfare when making policy.

Are farm animals protected by US federal law?

Barely. The Animal Welfare Act excludes them, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act covers only mammals at the moment of slaughter, and the 28-Hour Law governs transport. Nothing federal regulates how animals are housed on farms.

Is animal protection in the German constitution?

Yes. A 2002 amendment to Article 20a of the Basic Law makes protecting animals a state objective, which courts balance against competing constitutional rights such as freedom of religion and research.

Are animals legally sentient in France?

Yes, since 2015 the Civil Code describes them as living beings endowed with sentience, though they remain subject to the property regime.

Does Spain's animal welfare law cover farm animals?

No. Law 7/2023 covers companion and captive wild animals; farmed animals, bulls used in festivities and hunting dogs were excluded during its passage through parliament.

Is fur farming banned in the Netherlands?

Yes. A phase-out law from 2013 was accelerated after COVID-19 outbreaks on mink farms, and the last farms closed in 2021.

Is animal welfare in the Indian constitution?

Yes. Article 51A(g) makes compassion for living creatures a fundamental duty of citizens, and the Supreme Court has drawn on it to recognise animals' right to live with dignity.

Are farm animals protected by Canadian law?

Only partly. The Criminal Code addresses wilful cruelty but exempts accepted farming practice, and on-farm standards live in voluntary Codes of Practice that only some provinces make binding.

Is live export banned in Australia?

Live sheep export by sea will end in May 2028 under 2024 legislation, with a transition package for producers. Live cattle export is not affected.

Does New Zealand law recognise sentience?

Yes. The Animal Welfare Amendment Act 2015 states explicitly in the purpose provision that animals are sentient.

Does Brazil's constitution protect animals?

Yes. Article 225 requires the state to protect fauna and prohibits practices that subject animals to cruelty, and the Supreme Federal Court has relied on it to invalidate laws permitting vaquejada and cockfighting.

Reviewed 2026-08-23 by the Veg.ac editorial team · Data: Primary legislation, national agriculture departments, World Animal Protection · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.