🇨🇳 Animal Welfare in China

The world's largest animal agriculture system—scale, challenges, emerging advocacy, and paths to change

China is home to the world's largest livestock system by number of animals—and its welfare standards, regulations, and public attitudes are therefore among the most consequential in the world. Understanding the state of animal welfare in China—and the levers for change—is essential for anyone working to improve outcomes for animals globally.

~700M
pigs raised in China per year (~50% of global total)
~5B
chickens raised annually in China
~16B
aquatic animals farmed annually
1.4B
people whose dietary choices shape demand

The Scale of China's Animal Agriculture

China raises more pigs than the next 43 countries combined. It is also the world's largest producer of poultry, eggs, and farmed fish. The scale is almost incomprehensible: approximately one-third of all farm animals alive at any moment are in China.

This system has undergone dramatic transformation in recent decades. China's agricultural policy has aggressively promoted consolidation and industrialization, moving from small-scale traditional farming toward large-scale industrial operations. The 2018 African Swine Fever outbreak, which devastated China's pig herd, accelerated this shift further—with huge integrated industrial operations rebuilt in its wake.

Key Animal Welfare Issues in China

🐷 Pig Confinement

Gestation crates are standard in industrial pork production. China's pig industry has largely replicated Western intensive farming practices, with sows confined in individual crates for most of their reproductive lives. Some domestic producers and international supply chains are beginning to commit to phase-outs.

🐔 Poultry Systems

Battery cage systems remain predominant for egg-laying hens. However, multinational food companies with Chinese operations—under pressure from global cage-free commitments—are beginning to transition portions of their Chinese supply chains.

🐟 Aquaculture

China produces roughly 60% of the world's farmed fish. Fish welfare standards are minimal, and practices including crowding, poor water quality, and live transportation without stunning are common. The scale makes this one of the most important aquaculture welfare issues globally.

🐻 Bear Bile Farming

Approximately 20,000 bears (mostly Asiatic black bears) are kept in bile farms, enduring repeated bile extraction procedures. Although increasingly controversial within China, the practice continues despite significant domestic opposition.

🐕 Dog and Cat Meat

While consumption is declining, particularly among younger urban Chinese, the dog meat trade continues, especially in some southern regions. Welfare conditions in the trade are typically extremely poor. Domestic advocacy against the practice is growing.

🌊 Wild Animal Trade

China is a major market for wildlife products, including ivory, rhino horn, and exotic wildlife. The 2020 wildlife trade ban passed after COVID-19 represented a significant step, though implementation and enforcement remain challenges.

Legal Framework: What Exists and What's Missing

Current Protections

China does not have comprehensive animal welfare legislation covering farm animals. However, several existing laws provide partial protections:

What's Missing

Timeline: Progress and Key Developments

2006
Draft Animal Protection Law circulated by academics; fails to advance but sparks public debate
2010
Draft anti-cruelty legislation proposed, gains media attention; not enacted but demonstrates growing civil society interest
2015
Yulin Dog Festival attracts international attention; domestic opposition grows significantly; local government begins distancing from event
2018
African Swine Fever devastates pig herd; drives industrial consolidation; paradoxically creates opportunity for welfare standards in rebuilt facilities
2020
COVID-19 wild animal trade ban: National People's Congress bans consumption of most wild terrestrial animals—most significant wildlife protection step in decades
2022
Wildlife Protection Law revised; multinational cage-free commitments begin affecting Chinese supply chains; domestic plant-based food market reaches $12B+
2023–24
Growing corporate welfare commitments from Chinese food companies; Bear bile farming under increasing domestic pressure; plant-based meat market continues expanding

Levers for Change

Multinational Supply Chain Pressure

Global food companies with Chinese operations—McDonald's, KFC (Yum China), Walmart, IKEA Food—face the same stakeholder pressure on animal welfare globally. Several have begun extending cage-free and gestation-crate-free commitments to their Chinese supply chains, affecting millions of animals.

Corporate progress example: Yum China committed to sourcing cage-free eggs across all its China restaurants by 2026. Given Yum China's scale (9,000+ KFC and Pizza Hut locations in China), this commitment affects hundreds of millions of eggs annually.

Growing Domestic Advocacy Movement

China has a growing domestic animal welfare movement, particularly among younger urban populations. Organizations including Animals Asia, IFAW China, and numerous domestic groups are active. Social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat have enabled animal welfare content to reach enormous audiences.

Cultural Shifts

Urban Chinese consumers—particularly millennials and Gen Z—are increasingly concerned about animal welfare, food safety, and environmental issues. Survey data shows growing support for stronger animal welfare protections. Veganism and plant-based eating are growing trends in major Chinese cities.

Key challenge: Civil society advocacy in China operates in a constrained environment. Organizations must navigate carefully, and international advocacy can sometimes trigger nationalist backlash that makes domestic advocacy harder. The most effective approaches tend to emphasize food safety, public health, and Chinese cultural values around compassion, rather than framing issues in terms of Western animal rights.

Plant-Based and Alternative Protein

China's domestic plant-based market is growing rapidly. Companies like Zhenmeat, Starfield, and Haofood are developing plant-based products tailored to Chinese cuisine. Given China's scale, even modest shifts in per-capita consumption would affect enormous numbers of animals.

The Global Stakes

China's animal welfare trajectory matters enormously for global animal welfare outcomes. If China's industrializing agriculture replicates Western factory farming at full scale without welfare improvements, the increase in animal suffering would dwarf any gains elsewhere. Conversely, if Chinese corporate, regulatory, and cultural changes move toward higher welfare standards—even marginally—the impact on hundreds of millions of animals would be transformative.

This is why organizations like Animals Asia, Humane Society International, and World Animal Protection have significant China programs, and why supply chain advocacy targeting multinationals with Chinese operations is a high-priority strategy for global animal welfare.

What You Can Do