Humane League Annual Report 2025
Thanks to you, 2025 was a year full of courage, compassion, and community. Your unwavering support is dismantling factory farms around the world, ensuring that companies are keeping their promises to animals, and shaping a brighter, kinder future for every being.
2025 BY THE NUMBERS
hens spared from cages
around the globe
160M+
Animals set to benefit
from 2025's successful negotiations and pressure campaigns to end the most extreme forms of abuse
46.4%
of egg-laying hens in the US
living outside cages for the first time
92%
of corporate cage-free commitments
with deadlines of 2024 or earlier fulfilled
YOU HELPED US REACH A CRITICAL TIPPING POINT for helping hens
Twenty years ago, when The Humane League was founded, cage-free eggs were considered a fringe concept. At that time, 98% of hens in the US lived in battery cages.
Today, 46.4% of egg-laying hens in the US no longer suffer extreme confinement. Not only are companies talking about change—they’re being forced to make it, thanks to you.
THANK YOU, CHANGEMAKERS
1.48M+
messages sent
to decision-makers on behalf of animals
56k
donations made
by 15.4K generous supporters
6.18k
grassroots actions
taken by nearly 1.3K changemakers
It’s easy to get lost in the numbers. But behind every data point is a real, living being whose life is profoundly changed.
YOU CULTIVATED COURAGE AND COMMUNITY around the globe
The Open Wing Alliance (OWA) unites member organizations from around the world with one common goal: ending the abuse of chickens worldwide.
From Thailand to New Zealand, Ghana to Germany, Taiwan to Mexico, Open Wing Alliance members demanded cage-free commitments from the world’s largest and most influential companies to spare millions of animals from suffering.
THE OPEN WING ALLIANCE IN 2025
82
organizations
across 72 countries
$2M+
granted to 36 groups
across 30 countries and six continents
234
new corporate commitments
secured for chickens around the world, with more than 60 of those commitments established in Africa
HOLDING THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY ACCOUNTABLE
When Best Western Hotels went silent on its commitment to go cage-free by 2025, OWA members joined forces to get loud for hens. Members from Peru to Poland petitioned, protested, and put relentless pressure on this hospitality giant until the company finally reported meaningful progress toward sparing hens from cages—for the first time ever.
We don’t build power behind closed doors—we bring it to the streets, to boardrooms, and across borders.
You fought animal cruelty with
This year, changemakers around the world showed up online, over the phone, and in person in record-breaking numbers to hold companies accountable for their promises to animals.
After calling out Subway in our 2025 Eggsposé report and turning up the heat on executives and franchisees, this major player reported progress and fully transitioned to 100% cage-free eggs in North America, sparing nearly 340,000 hens from cages annually.
The actions we took against Subway were nothing if not courageous. In Miami, I watched our campaigners rally one another, speak from the heart, and step out of their comfort zones to raise their voices to complete strangers.
You exposed the darkest corners of the
We partnered with We Animals Media and Reporters for Animals International to collate unreleased footage from the world’s largest egg investigation. Leveraging our global reach to drive media coverage of the investigation, we mobilized supporters to pressure corporate targets profiting from animal cruelty.
THE REAL COST OF EGGS
Largest-ever
investigation
into industrialized egg farms across 37 countries
Narrated by
Nikki Glaser
comedian and Golden Globes host
Coverage in
450+ media outlets
with a reach of 340M+ unique viewers
DISRUPTING THE INDUSTRY
This sweeping investigation sent shockwaves through the egg industry, and the companies profiting from it. Following media coverage, an egg farm in Bulgaria, which held 45,000 hens in cages, permanently shut down; The Cheesecake Factory proactively reported that it was 100% cage-free six years ahead of schedule, sparing nearly 185,000 hens from cages; and Walmart returned to the negotiating table for its cage-free commitment after four years of silence.
The worst part is knowing this is normal, that this is how the eggs people buy, without thinking, are produced. No green fields or happy animals. Just misery packed into a disgusting shed.
31
member groups
across 21 states including Washington, DC
$300K
in grants
provided to 12 member groups
10
major legislative victories
achieved for farmed animals
Standing our ground for hard-won animal protections
In 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit to dismantle California’s Proposition 12. This law spares tens of millions of animals from the worst abuses—including cruel cages for hens, veal crates for baby cows, and gestation crates for mother pigs.
Flanked by APA members, we engaged in months of direct outreach to congressional offices and worked closely with our allies across the movement, pushing back on devastating proposed provisions in the Farm Bill.
By the end of the year, 228 members of Congress from both parties had signed letters opposing those provisions. Our strategy was to keep the EATS Act politically divisive, and that’s exactly what we did, thanks to you.
You set the stage for our challenge to a
pivotal
Retail grocery stores buy and sell more eggs than any other sector in the US, and Ahold Delhaize USA is the sixth-largest grocery store chain in the country. Big enough to impact other major players in its sector, but small enough to be vulnerable to pressure. This past year, we rang this corporation’s doorbell and have been relentlessly banging down the door with a tenacity that’s been impossible to ignore.
messages sent to Ahold brands’ decision-makers on behalf of hens
Thanks to your unwavering support last year, we won our campaign against Ahold Delhaize in early 2026.
Take a victory lap
CHANGEMAKERS IN ACTION
Christa has been dedicating her time to animals and the environment for years. But in 2025, she tried something new by attending her first protest. That inaugural protest was one of 17 in-person actions against Ahold Delhaize that Christa participated in last year.
When I picked up the megaphone to first lead a chant, a sort of magic happened. I heard myself yelling: My voice was loud, clear, confident, and full of conviction. I just thought of being as loud as I could for the animals.
In 2025, THL was named a “Recommended Charity” by Animal Charity Evaluators for the 12th year in a row—because we are committed to stewarding your gifts to the animals effectively. We are the only nonprofit to have been awarded this distinction every year we’ve been evaluated.
The Humane League’s scale of work, track record, evidence-driven approach, impressive impact monitoring, and strategic prioritization make them a highly cost-effective donation opportunity.
We prioritize donating to high-impact charities and chose THL due to its track record. We’re proud to have helped reduce suffering and improve the lives of farmed animals through our support.
The Humane League is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) that is entirely funded by donations from thousands of generous individuals. Your donations are driving real change for millions of animals right now and dismantling factory farming in every corner of the world.
Together, we will end the abuse of animals raised for food.
