Successes this week

170 Countries Agree To Phase Out ‘Super Greenhouse Gasses’

Target: John Kerry, Secretary of State
Goal: Applaud the adoption of an agreement phasing out extremely environmentally hazardous greenhouse gasses.
In a victory in the global fight against climate change, 170 countries have agreed to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), greenhouse gasses which are up to 10,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. HFCs are used in refrigerators and air conditioners, and began to be used as substitutes for ozone depleting chemicals. The agreement, the product of four days of negotiations in Kigali, Rwanda, mandates countries phase out HFC use according to their level of industrialization and income, with high income countries eliminating the chemicals first. Given that most of the air conditioner and refrigerator markets are in high income countries, this means that this agreement will likely have a significant impact as it begins to go into effect.
This agreement is the product of the hard work of thousands of people including officials from 170 countries, climate and environmental activists, and a number of organizations concerned with the threat of global climate change. It would not have been possible without political pressure from a number of organizations and petitions such as these on ForceChange. Sign our petition and applaud this victory in the fight against climate change, and push for more aggressive action to combat greenhouse gas emissions. SIGN THE THANK YOU LETTER...

TripAdvisor to stop selling tickets for some of the world's cruelest wildlife entertainment attractions. In order to bring an end to the suffering of animals for entertainment, we've engaged with the global travel industry, urging tour operators and others to commit to stop sending customers to venues where wild animals are exploited, such as riding elephants, taking selfies with tigers or petting lion cubs.

We've identified some of these activities as the world's cruelest forms of wildlife tourist entertainment.

Earlier this year, we shared the good news that with help from our wonderful supporters, over 100 global travel companies agreed to no longer offer visits to venues with elephant rides and shows in any of their markets.

Now, thanks to over 558,000 supporters we are proud to share that TripAdvisor will stop selling tickets to wildlife activities where tourists are allowed direct contact with captive, wild animals or endangered species. This means activities such as tiger selfies, petting lion cubs and swimming with dolphins will no longer be offered!

Click here to read more about our ongoing work with TripAdvisor as they launch an animal attraction education portal and to read comments from our CEO Steve McIvor.
Pigs lying down at Dexing Farm near Shantou city in Guangdong Province
Lobbying leads to UN policy win for the welfare of farm animals worldwide. After we lobbied the United Nations, governments will now prioritize animal welfare thanks to new policy recommendations. Farm animals worldwide will be better protected following the adoption of groundbreaking global policy recommendations on animal welfare in farming, made by the UN this week.
Following our extensive work, substantive language on animal welfare was included in the recommendations, which have been adopted by member countries.
A massive step forward
This change by the UN is a massive step forward in putting animal welfare at the front and center of farming. It means countries will no longer ask ‘should we include animal welfare?’ but ‘how do we deliver better animal welfare?’
The ruling was made at the UN Committee on World Food Security meeting in Rome on Monday (October 17). 
Paving the way for change
Our lobbying efforts over the past two years have helped lay the groundwork for these changes in global policy, which involve:
the inclusion of language on animal welfare, making it clear that governments should prioritize animal welfare in designing their country’s farming systems
emphasis that animals should be able to live free from pain, distress and hunger, and be able to demonstrate natural behaviors as set out by the Five Freedoms and World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) standards and principles
recommendations stressing the importance of animal health and access to veterinary services.
The recommendations were informed by a High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report on farm animal welfare, which informed the priorities. Our Head of Policy, Lesley Mitchell was one of the experts to input to the report.
Lesley says: “By treating animals well, we can fight poverty, reduce hunger, improve people’s health, tackle climate change and protect the biodiversity of our planet. We’ve been working to make sure the vital importance of animal protection is recognized at a global level.
“This is clear acknowledgement that better animal welfare contributes to better food security for communities, which in turn helps to tackle sustainable development goals to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.”
We will continue to work directly with key countries to embed these recommendations in policy and practice.
Despite this great step forward for farm animals, billions suffer every year on industrial farms.
You can help by signing our petition, urging KFC, one of the world’s largest fast-food chains, to help end the secret suffering of chickens.
“By treating animals well, we can fight poverty, reduce hunger, improve people’s health, tackle climate change and protect the biodiversity of our planet." - World Animal Protection Head of Policy, Lesley Mitchell