Browse our research reports
Report library
Our investigations team has written a plethora of research reports that expose and inform about complex animal protection issues around the globe.
Our reports are organised by campaign and listed in order from newest to oldest.
Jump to campaign:
Wildlife entertainment
Exotic pets
Traditional medicine
Farmed animals
Sea change
Disasters
Communities
Wildlife trade
Image credit: Dean Sewell
Every day, thousands of wild animals are poached, farmed or sold into the global multi-billion-dollar wildlife trade – for food, pets, traditional medicine, entertainment and fashion products.
- The truth about global wildlife farming
Bred for profit
- South Africa´s commercial lion industry should shut down
Putting a stop to cruelty
- Wild birds suffer for fashion
Feathers are the New Fur
- Wild animals suffer for fashion
Cruelty is out of fashion
- Peru’s markets put animals and people at risk
Risky business
- Ethiopian Airlines is fuelling global wildlife trade
Cargo of cruelty
- The trade in Australian saltwater crocodile skins
Fashion victims
- The G20 must end the global wildlife trade
Protect our world from pandemics
Wildlife not entertainers
From wild animal selfies to swimming with dolphins and elephant riding to petting lion cubs and taking tiger selfies, cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry is rampant.
- How tourism profits from cruel Taiji dolphin hunts in Japan
Waves of Profit
- Tourism entertainment in Bali & Lombok harms wildlife
Holidays that Harm
- Aussie wildlife venues exploit animals for experiences that are unnatural and distressing
Too Close For Comfort
- The rise of fake “animal rescue” videos on YouTube
Views that abuse
- Welfare conditions for captive elephants in tourism
Elephants. Not commodities
- The multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry
Behind the smile
- The suffering of captive wild animals at zoos & aquariums linked to WAZA
The Show Can't Go On
- The lives of captive marine mammals are impoverished
Against Mammals in Captivity
- Travel trade associations are ignoring wild animal abuse
Associated With Cruelty
- Entertainment tourism in Bali, Lombok and Gili Trawangan
Wildlife Abusement Parks
- The harmful impact of wildlife selfies in the Amazon
A Close Up On Cruelty
- The conditions for elephants used in tourism in Asia
Taken For a Ride
- A portrait of Thailand’s tiger entertainment industry
Tiger Selfies Exposed
- How to end wildlife tourism’s holiday horrors
Checking Out of Cruelty
- A continued case for change
The Cayman Turtle Farm
Wildlife not pets
Image credit: World Animal Protection / Aaron Gekoski
Each year, millions of wild animals are captured from their natural habitats or born into captivity, just to become pets. Our houses are not suitable homes for a wild animal.
- Uncovering the cruelty of the global trade in Ball pythons
- Exploiting Africa's wildlife
The 'Big 5' and 'Little 5' Report
- A social media craze is fueling otters' demise
Otters as Pets in Southeast Asia
- The hidden cruelty behind the exotic pet trade of African grey parrots
Wild at Heart
Wildlife not medicine
The demand for traditional Asian medicine is threatening wildlife populations around the world. From big cat farms to pangolin poaching, iconic animals are being pushed to the bring of extinction to fuel a scientifically unproven practice.
- The industry behind bear bile production & how to end it
Cruel Cures
- Big cat farming fuels the traditional Asian medicine industry
Trading Cruelty
- Investigating pangolin poaching in Hassam, India
Suffering at Scale
- Suriname's jaguar trade exposed
Uncovering a Secret Slaughter
- A deeper look at the international bear bile trade
Unbearable
Farm animals
The vast majority of farm animals live in factory farms that cause suffering and stress. It’s time to rethink farming.
- Australian fast-food companies lagging behind the rest of the world when it comes to chicken welfare
Fast Food, Slow Progress
- Reduce the carbon footprint of fast-food consumption with plant-based options
Shifting the Menu
- Moving towards humane & more sustainable protein
The Protein Switch
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Australian supermarket meats
Centre to Impact AMR
- Governments around the world turned a blind eye to the public health toll of factory farming
The Hidden Health Impact of Industrial Livestock
- Factory farms contaminate public water courses on 3 continents
Silent superbug killers in a river near you
- Antibiotic use in Australian animal agriculture
Antimicrobial use governance in the food animal sector
- Assessing how global fast-food brands are responding to the chicken crisis
The Pecking Order 2021
- (BBFAW) A leading global measure of farm animal welfare 2020
Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare
- Animal welfare and European financial links with deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado
Big meat. Big bucks. Bigger harm
- Factory farming and the rise of superbugs
Fuelling the pandemic crisis
- Making the financial case for more humane chicken production
Valuing higher welfare chicken
- How leading global fast-food companies are failing the chickens their businesses depend on
The Pecking Order 2018
- (BBFAW) A leading global measure of farm animal welfare 2018
Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare Report
- How higher welfare farming is better for pigs and people
Pork and the Superbug Crisis
- Exposing the facts of factory farming
A Pig's Tale
- Demand for chicken meat continues to rise, worsening their suffering
Exposing the secret suffering of chickens farmed for meat
Sea Change
Image credit: John Mancrieff
A staggering 640,000 tons of abandoned fishing gear (ghost gear) is left in our oceans each year. This gear traps, mutilates, and kills hundreds of thousands of animals annually.
- Fishing gear’s catastrophic impact on our oceans, and the urgent action needed from industry
Ghosts Beneath the Waves (2nd Edition)
- Ghost gear’s catastrophic impact on our oceans, and the urgent action needed from industry
Ghosts Beneath the Waves (1st Edition)
- How ghost fishing gear is endangering our sea life
Fishing's Phantom Menace
Animals in disasters
Image credit: Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Media
Disasters injure and kill millions of animals each year. When disasters hit, animals experience the same terrible effects as people: injury, starvation, thirst, displacement, illness and stress.
- An updated assessment of Australia's animal related planning for, and response to, disasters
Animals in disasters
Animals in communities
Image credit: Michael Duff
Millions of dogs are culled each year – in fruitless efforts to stop rabies spreading. Culling dogs is not the solution to rabies. The only way to eliminate the virus is through vaccination.
- How dogs hold the solution to ending human rabies by 2030