Respect for animals

Last Friday our CEO, Philip Lymbery, accepted a distinguished award in Barcelona, for Compassion in World Farming’s work to end factory farming.

Respect for animals

Now in its 17th year, the ‘Respeto a los animales’ (Respect for animals) award is presented by the Catalan Foundation Contratas Y Obras (CyO) to individuals or organisations working to expose the appalling conditions to which animals used for human consumption are currently subjected.

The award recognises awareness-raising and campaigning on issues including the use of drugs in farming, animal transport, intensive rearing in cages or pens and the promotion of animals as sentient beings.

The high profile panel was comprised of Andrew Rowan, President of The Humane Society International; Steve Wise, President of Nonhuman Rights Project; Fernando Turró, president of the CyO Foundation; Marita Giménez-Candela, director of the master’s degree in Animal Law at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; Josep Maldonado, President Esport Solidari Internacional; and Thubten Wangchen, President of the Tibet House of Barcelona. Animals’ Angels were also selected to receive this award.

Compassion España

Collecting this accolade on our behalf, Philip said: “We are deeply grateful for this prestigious award. This is our 50th anniversary year and our founder Peter Roberts, a visionary dairy farmer, had a dream that one day Compassion in World Farming would have a presence in Spain.

“It’s an honour to be here with you to receive this and to announce that we now have a permanent representative in Spain to take forward campaigns for farm animal welfare”.

Last year we began campaigning in Spain which is one of the major agricultural players in Europe, with a huge and increasing number of factory farmed animals. Our work to date has resulted in high profile media visibility and we are proud to be collaborating with organisations such as AVATMA and the Plataforma Loporzano SIN Ganaderia Intensiva, which supports local communities fighting the expansion of intensive farms.