Farmed Animal Reports

The Animal Welfare Institute prepares comprehensive papers on topics related to the welfare of animals used in agriculture. Each of the following reports is available as a downloadable PDF.

Current

Enforcement of State Farm Animal Welfare Laws (second edition) June 2024
The Welfare of Birds at Slaughter (fourth edition) December 2023
Deceptive Consumer Labels: How the USDA's Failure to Oversee its Label Approval Program Allows the Meat Industry to Co-Opt Humane and Sustainable Claims March 2023
Custom-Exempt Slaughter: A License to Neglect and Abuse Farm Animals January 2023
A Review: The Twenty-Eight Hour Law and Its Enforcement June 2022
Barn Fires: A Deadly Threat to Farm Animals (second edition) January 2022
Humane Slaughter Update: Federal and State Oversight of the Welfare of Farm Animals at Slaughter (second edition) April 2020
The Critical Relationship Between Farm Animal Health and Welfare April 2018
Animal Welfare in the National Organic Program: The USDA Must Act Quickly to Protect Millions of Animals August 2017
USDA Gives Producers Free Rein Over “Free Range” Product Labels December 2015

Archival

The Welfare of Birds at Slaughter (third edition) November 2020
Enforcement of State Farm Animal Welfare Laws March 2020
Label Confusion 2.0: How the USDA Allows Producers to Use “Humane” and “Sustainable” Claims on Meat Packages and Deceive Consumers September 2019
Barn Fires: A Deadly Threat to Farm Animals October 2018
The Welfare of Birds at Slaughter: 2017 Update November 2017
Humane Slaughter Update: Federal and State Oversight of the Welfare of Farm Animals at Slaughter April 2017
The Welfare of Birds at Slaughter in the United States April 2016
Label Confusion: How “Humane” and “Sustainable” Claims on Meat Packages Deceive Consumers May 2014
Humanewashed: USDA Process Verified Program Misleads Consumers About Animal Welfare Marketing Claims May 2012
Humane Slaughter Update: Comparing State & Federal Enforcement of Humane Slaughter Laws September 2010
Crimes Without Consequences: The Enforcement of Humane Slaughter Laws in the United States May 2008
Factory Farming: The Experiment that Failed, Volume II 2008