Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is a campaigning and lobbying

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

organisation. It campaigns against the

live export Live export is the commercial transport of livestock across national borders. The trade involves a number of countries with the Australian live export industry being one of the largest exporters in the global trade. According to the Australian ...

of animals, certain methods of livestock slaughter, and all systems of

factory farming Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...

. It has received celebrity endorsements and been recognized by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

for its campaigning. It has grown to a global movement with partners and supporters concerned about the welfare of farm animals.

History

Peter Roberts, a

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

dairy farmer, founded Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) in 1967. After he realized there was public support, Roberts unsuccessfully appealed to contemporary animal welfare groups to campaign against

. Undeterred, Roberts began his own campaign. Roberts retired in 1991. He was replaced as Chief Executive by Joyce D'Silva, who served until 2005 and now serves as ambassador.

Philip Lymbery Philip John Lymbery (born 23 September 1965) is the Global CEO of farm animal welfare charity, Compassion in World Farming International, Visiting Professor at the University of Winchester’s Centre for Animal Welfare, President of Eurogroup for ...

, co-author of '' Farmageddon'', is the current Chief Executive. CIWF has offices in the UK, Italy, Netherlands, France, Poland, the United States, Brussels and China. Representatives are located in Czech Republic, Spain, Germany, South Africa, and Sweden. CIWF was responsible for the veal crate ban in the UK, as well as bans on narrow stalls and chains on pregnant sows. The European Union recognised animals as sentient beings as a result of their petition.

Activism

Compassion in World Farming does not support violence or threats; rather, it campaigns peacefully for the humane treatment of farm animals, which members accept will be killed and eaten. The ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' has called it "the most rational of the groups that campaign about animal welfare and the environment." In addition to advocacy, it produces educational material for school children, and has fought against what it calls industry-sponsored propaganda. To celebrate and promote good animal welfare practices, it presents awards including the Good Egg, Good Chicken, Good Dairy, and Good Pig. Its undercover investigations have revealed animal cruelty to hens, cattle, pigs, and sheep. CIWF advocates

free range Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, ...

systems, but accepts straw-bedded indoor systems for pigs. It has warned about factory farming of

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was mad ...

, which it says is neither economically beneficial for farmers nor healthy for cows. It has advocated a complete ban on

fur farming Fur farming is the practice of breeding or raising certain types of animals for their fur. Most of the world's farmed fur is produced by European farmers. In 2018, there were 5,000 fur farms in the EU, all located across 22 countries; these ...

in Ireland, which it describes as "one of the most serious animal welfare problems facing Ireland today". In 2002, it called for a global moratorium on all experimental or commercial cloning of farm animals. It opposes the practice of

of farm animals for slaughter, instead advocating that the animals be slaughtered before transport. In support of this position, its supporters have demonstrated in London, Ipswich, Belfast, Ramsgate, and Dover. It has also campaigned to maintain a ban on the live transport of horses. It supports a ban on

foie gras Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding). Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy ...

, calling this "an example of

intensive farming Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...

at its worst". Celebrity supporters have included

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

, who spoke against long distance animal transport, and

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, who advocated for reduced consumption of meat products. In 2010,

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinton, ...

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment si ...

Marc Abraham Marc Abraham is an American film producer, director, and former president of Strike Entertainment, a production company he launched in early 2002 with a multi-year, first look arrangement with Universal Pictures. Career Abraham began his care ...

, and

William Roache William Patrick Roache (born 25 April 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Ken Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since it was first broadcast on 9 December 1960. He is listed in the ''Guinness World Records ...

endorsed CIWF's protest against factory farming of cattle by Nocton Dairies. Early supporters include

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...

and

Celia Hammond Celia Hammond (born 25 July 1943) is an English former model who has since become known as a campaigner against fur and for neutering of cats to control the feral population. Early life Hammond was born to English parents and raised in Australia ...

, who protested against

battery cage Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery batt ...

Awards

In 2007, CIWF won the

Food and Farming Award for the best food campaigner/educator. In 2009, it won the Broadcast Digital Award for Best Use of Interactive for their Chicken Out! website. In 2011, it won a Third Sector Excellence Award for its annual review and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''s Ethical Award for Campaigner of the Year.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Compassion In World Farming 1967 establishments in the United Kingdom Animal charities based in the United Kingdom Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Godalming Organisations based in Surrey Organizations established in 1967

History

Activism

Awards

See also

References

External links