OUR THEORY OF CHANGE

Animal protection laws exist in the UK to protect animals from suffering, cruelty and harm. Yet too often, the gap between the law and its enforcement leaves animals vulnerable and those responsible unaccountable. We challenge public authorities to fulfil their legal duties to protect animals, applying pressure for effective enforcement, and taking legal action when they fail to act.

Our theory of change is grounded in private prosecution as a powerful mechanism for systemic change, using the law to secure accountability and challenge unlawful practices.

Our work seeks to close the enforcement gap through rigorous, evidence-led legal action. By pursuing private prosecutions where credible evidence exists and prosecution is justified in the public interest, we aim to hold offenders accountable, strengthen compliance with existing law and protect animals by deterring future unlawful practices.

Alongside private prosecutions, we use strategic legal action, including judicial review, to challenge decisions by government and public bodies that are incompatible with their duties to uphold animal welfare and protection law. Through both routes, we seek to ensure that legal protections are upheld in practice, not simply recognised in principle.

We hold more than 150 investigations from 2024–2026, representing a significant, time-sensitive opportunity to pursue appropriate legal action. With our legal strategy, infrastructure and expertise in place, we aim to translate credible evidence into action that delivers change at three levels: accountability for individual offenders, deterrence of unlawful industry practices, and case law that strengthens the long-term enforcement of animal protection laws.

Our work extends beyond enforcement. Through education, we help young people understand the laws that protect animals and inspire the next generation of lawyers to consider careers in animal and environmental law. By combining legal action today with developing future legal expertise, we seek to strengthen the foundations of lasting animal protection.

Our long-term vision is a society in which animal protection laws are consistently enforced, unlawful suffering is reduced and those who break the law face appropriate consequences. We aim to help build a system in which the law provides meaningful protection for animals, serving as a real and effective safeguard for their lives and welfare.