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Your farmed animal advocacy update for late May 2026
Hi there! 👋 Things are feeling extra buzzy across the Hive team as more than half of us—and some of our wonderful volunteers, whom we endearingly call Pollinators—pack their bags for animal advocacy conferences over the next two weeks. Whether we cross paths with you in person or connect digitally from home, we’re just as excited to be in community with you this month!
We also have an ask: Hive, Vegan Hacktivists, and Stray Dog Institute are running a short survey to map where the animal advocacy movement stands on AI: who is using which tools, what is working, and where support is needed. Ten randomly selected respondents will each direct $250 to a movement organization of their choice for AI implementation, with entries accepted through 12 June.
The most popular link from Hive Highlights early May 2026 was the Faunalytics 2026 Global Animal Slaughter Statistics, an interactive data tool for campaign planning and regional strategy.
To kick off today’s Hive Highlights, here are our 3 top picks from across the movement:
From Jobs & Opportunities
🔥 Opportunities: High Impact Professionals opens applications for its free six-week Impact Accelerator Program, helping experienced professionals take concrete steps toward high-impact work. New for 2026: an Entrepreneurship Track for those exploring starting their own high-impact organization. Apply by 7 June.
🔥 Opportunities: Effective Thesis opens applications for its summer fellowship connecting students and early-career researchers with animal advocacy organizations. Apply by 3 June.
From Movement News
💪 Animal Advocacy Org Updates: Animal Charity Evaluators announces $1.3 million in Movement Grants to 25 projects and organizations globally.
P.S. If you're heading to any of the upcoming conferences in Toronto or London, come say Hi(ve) to the Hive team. We'll be the ones wearing orange! We'd love to meet you.
Warmly,
Sofia, Chelsea, and the Hive team
How to navigate Hive Highlights
Every two weeks, Hive sends you the latest updates (click to jump):
Movement news: Covering 🐖 Animal Welfare, 🥗 Plant-Based Food & Alternative Protein, ⚖️ Policy, Legislation, and Law, 💪🏾 Animal Advocacy Org Updates, and 🎲 Other
Jobs & Opportunities: Covering 💼 Jobs, 💡 Skilled volunteering, 🔥 Opportunities, 💰 Funding, and 🤝 Upcoming External Events
Resources: Covering 📚 Research, 🎙️ Podcasts, 📙 Books, and 🎥 Videos
Hive updates: Covering the latest from our team!
Other ways to read this newsletter: Extensions Jetwriter AI (to summarize posts) or Read Aloud.
🐖 Animal Welfare
Canada’s largest horse slaughterhouse, Bouvry Exports Alberta, closes permanently following years of documented animal cruelty violations, legal complaints, and regulatory action.
French retailer Auchan commits to improving farmed shrimp welfare, including eliminating eyestalk ablation by 2026 and implementing pre-slaughter electric stunning by 2030.
The Open Wing Alliance reports major cage-free progress from five global companies, including REWE Group, Pizza Express, Caffè Nero, Columbus Café & Co, and Ferrero Group, collectively impacting over 11 million hens annually.
🥗 Plant-Based Food & Alternative Protein
Food Forward Europe publishes a report calling for the reallocation of 20% of EU Common Agricultural Policy subsidies toward plant-based protein production.
India launches its first dedicated alternative protein biofoundry, backed by $4.4 million in public investment and supported by Good Food Institute India.
The Protein Resource launches as a consumer-friendly hub comparing protein sources from a health perspective for advocates and health professionals.
UK startup Meatly raises £10M to build Europe’s largest cultivated meat facility in London, advancing efforts to make cultivated meat commercially viable at scale.
⚖️ Policy, Legislation, and Law
The European Parliament passes a non-binding resolution calling for the EU to halt funding for NGOs that lobby for plant-based alternatives in school meals.
Harvard Law School announces it will shut down its Animal Law and Policy Clinic after the 2026-27 academic year, despite full enrollment.
The Netherlands updates its national food guidelines to reduce meat and dairy intake and increase emphasis on plant-based foods.
💪 Animal Advocacy Org Updates
Ethical Seafood Research hosts a webinar on 2 June to explore seaweed farming as a sustainable alternative to aquatic animal agriculture, and to preview its upcoming report on the economic case for seaweed culture. RSVP now.
The Animal Welfare Observatory publishes its 2025 impact report, highlighting campaign progress and its recognition as an Animal Charity Evaluators Recommended Charity.
The India Animal Welfare Funding Circle publishes results and reflections from its first grantmaking round, which distributed $585,000 across 17 organizations in India.
The Navigation Fund’s Farm Animal Welfare Program launches Hatching Plans, a Substack covering movement strategy, philanthropy, and the hard questions facing animal advocacy.
Specialised Breeders Australia and Agri Advanced Technologies announce the launch of Australia's first in-ovo sexing machine, enabling hatcheries to identify the sex of chicks before hatching for the first time in the Asia-Pacific region.
💼 Jobs
Country Director France, Four Paws. Hybrid, France. Apply by 24 May.
Development Coordinator (part-time contract), Animal Charity Evaluators. Remote, US. Apply by 24 May.
Campaigns Officer, Eurogroup for Animals. Brussels, Belgium (remote options possible). Apply by 25 May.
Senior Research Manager (Nutrition & Health), ProVeg International. Remote, global, (with core hours 10am–4pm CET) or Germany/Spain. Apply by 28 May.
Communications Associate, Animal Justice. Remote or hybrid, Toronto, Canada. Apply by 31 May.
Philippines Country Lead, Scale Welfare. Remote, Luzon, Philippines. Apply by 31 May.
Open Wing Alliance Associate Director of Europe, The Humane League. Remote, select countries in Europe. Apply by 1 June.
Digital Communications Director, Animal Outlook. Remote, US. Apply by 5 June.
Social Media Manager, Compassion in World Farming. Hybrid, Godalming, UK. Apply by 5 June.
Program Officer, Arthropoda Foundation. Remote (East Coast hours preferred). Apply by 15 July.
Communications and Marketing Manager, Mercy For Animals. Remote, Mexico.
Digital Marketing Coordinator, Animal Equality. Hybrid, Madrid, Spain.
Operations Lead, Technical Program & AI Research Systems (part-time), Welfare Footprint Institute. Remote, part-time.
Planned Giving Officer, Mid-Atlantic, Humane World for Animals. Remote, Mid-Atlantic, US.
Rebellyous Foods lists multiple open roles, including Administrative Assistant (Tukwila, Washington, US), Food Scientist: Production, Product Development & Regulatory (Tukwila, Washington, US), and Food Service Account Manager (Southeast and Midwest, remote, US).
V-Label Manager, Awards & Email, ProVeg International. Remote, Germany.
Writer, Our World in Data. Remote (UK hours overlap preferred).
Job search tip: Browse Hive’s Jobs and Careers Resources and follow our Slack’s job feed in the #job-posting channel for new positions daily! You can also view the Animal Advocacy Careers, AltProtein.Jobs, Food Impact Careers, and Probably Good job boards.
💡 Job hunting? Also consider skilled volunteering
Volunteering helps you build skills, connections, context, and credentials, all while creating change for farmed animals. For many people, volunteering is a key step towards working professionally in the movement. For others, volunteering is one of several impactful ways to contribute.
Three places to find volunteering opportunities helping farmed animals:
The Hive Slack Community (that’s us!)
🔥 Opportunities
The Centre for Effective Altruism offers a free four-day online career bootcamp for impact-driven professionals looking to pivot into high-impact work. Apply by 26 May.
Violet Studios opens applications for free branding and design services for animal advocacy organizations, with limited spots available for July through September. Apply by 7 June.
International Centre for Animal Rights and Ethics opens registration for a two-day online workshop on Constitutional Animal Rights Law, taking place 25–26 June via Zoom.
Current Affairs invites op-ed pitches on animal welfare topics from advocates, paying $250 and up.
💰 Funding
The Hatchery Fund opens applications for microgrants of up to $1,000 for animal advocates to experiment with new tactics. Apply by 12 June.
Fundraising tip: Hive’s Fundraising Guide includes a database of current opportunities and key resources on how to fundraise.
🤝 Upcoming External Events
AVA Summit Canada, 21–24 May. Toronto, Canada.
Sentient Futures London, 22–24 May. London, UK.
EA Global: London, 29–31 May. London, UK.
World Aquaculture Singapore, 3–5 June. Singapore.
International Aquaculture Law & Policy Symposium, 5 June. Birmingham, UK.
Vegan Creator Con, 13–14 June. Los Angeles, US.
AVA Ghana, 16–19 July. Accra, Ghana.
Events tip: View more on the Connect for Animals (CFA) event list, the Effective Altruism Global event page, and our Conference Database.
📚 Research
Animal Law Europe releases a factsheet on cage bans in the EU, including the percentage of egg-laying hens still kept in cages in each EU Member State.
Animal Think Tank publishes research on plant-based messaging effectiveness across five audience segments, alongside a practical guide for UK communicators.
Compassion in Machine Learning finds that training AI models on synthetic documents improves animal welfare reasoning without affecting capabilities.
Eurogroup for Animals releases new resources, including economic case studies on cage-free transition financing in Finland and Italy, a joint report with Compassion in World Farming on financing the cage-free transition across the EU, and an updated insect farming report.
Researchers find that barren factory farm environments amplify and prolong pain in captive animals by disabling natural pain-suppressing mechanisms.
Researchers reveal that corporate cage-free pledges from global hotel chains may not translate into real change without government regulation.
🎙️ Podcasts
David Ramms
Are Vegans Getting AI Wrong? With Andy Masley
Fork the System
Empathy-building and policy enforcement in the animal welfare movement with Kirumira Julius, co-founder of the African Institute for Animal Welfare
Hope for the Animals Podcast
Cage-Free Cracked Open with Amber Canavan
Our Hen House
📙 Books
80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good, by Benjamin Todd. Available for pre-order, publishing 26 May.
🎥 Videos
Jack Hancock-Fairs premieres The Dying Trade, a documentary exploring the hidden human cost of the meat processing industry on slaughterhouse workers.
Project Slingshot releases Gaslit, a short documentary exposing the reality of carbon dioxide gas chamber slaughter of pigs and chickens in the UK food industry.
The hardest part of the AVA Summit might be what happens next
Attending AVA Summit Canada this week? 🇨🇦 You’ll have 3.5 days of conversations, plus talks, workshops, and spontaneous hallway chats. Then you go home, exhausted and exhilarated. Life gets busy, and all the people and organizations you want to keep in touch with get scattered across LinkedIn, email, your phone’s notes app, a few business cards, and maybe a paper notebook.
We have good news. The people you met at AVA are probably already on Hive Slack! It’s where 5,000+ farmed animal advocates live year-round. It’s easier to keep those names of your new connections alive when they’re all in one place, not spread across 4 platforms.
Post in #e-ava-summit this week to take your first step. Share a reflection, give kudos to someone you heard speak, or just say hi.
Post by May 31 and you’re entered to win a little surprise from our team. 🎁
Already in Hive Slack? Go to the e-ava-summit channel here.
Not yet a Hive Slack community member? Join here.
Looking for a different kind of connection?
If you're looking for a low-pressure way to meet others in the movement, join our next Hive Community Conversation on 29 May. This virtual meetup is all about connection and collaboration—giving you a dedicated space to share what you’re exploring, hear what others are working on, and discover new ideas. Open to all advocates, no matter how long you've been in the field! RSVP now.
Thanks for reading our Hive Highlights: late May 2026 edition 🧡 It’s made possible by the incredible work of animal advocates like you.
📰 Submit inclusions for the next edition: deadline is 8 June, 2026.
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