Slovenia Passes Law to Ban Cages for Hens by 2028 Slovenia has officially passed a law banning cage farming for hens, with a full phase-out by the end of 2028. It applies to laying hens, pullets, and all parent flocks.  The new very ambitious law passed on Thursday, 24th July. In a fourth, and final, vote by the National Assembly, overturning a veto passed by the National council. For farm animals, beyond the cage ban, the new legislation brings two unprecedented wins: * A ban on piglet castration without pain relief (requiring analgesia and anaesthesia). The procedure can only be done by a vet and no longer by the farmers themselves. * State-funded sanctuaries for horses and other equines. Retired police horses and equines confiscated by inspection are the responsibility of the state. And will now have a chance at life in state-funded farm animal sanctuaries. The fight happened on multiple fronts. But thanks to the massive support of the Slovenian public for cage-free, achieved by relentless campaigning, the cage ban ended up carrying the law. And the opposition to progressive reform was overrun.  This is more than a policy win — it is a sign from yet another country that legislative change is achievable for farm animals and worth persuing. Additionally, a cage ban in another EU member state paves the way for a cage-free Europe. Best, Samo Curk,  Executive Director at AETP

Cities across Europe are stepping up for climate, health, and animal protection. Alcorcón, El Masnou, and Parla in Spain, Grenoble in France, and Campolide in Portugal have recently endorsed the call for a global Plant Based Treaty to cut food emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. Their commitments include: * Piloting plant-based meals in public dining halls and city facilities, and banning land use changes for animal agriculture (Alcorcón) * Requiring at least 50% plant-based catering at municipal events (El Masnou) * Prioritizing plant-based food in public procurement and developing a local sustainable food strategy, including plant-based menus in school cafeterias, day centres and residencies (Parla) * Increasing plant-based options in canteens and at events, and promoting initiatives such as Veganuary (Grenoble) * Organizing community-based plant-based cooking workshops and running educational programs in schools to raise awareness of food system impacts and encourage dietary shifts (Campolide)   To date, 45 cities globally have endorsed the Plant Based Treaty, and with your support, our teams are transforming food policy one city at a time as we build momentum to secure our first country endorsement.  

AI is advancing incredibly fast. We might see AI systems that are better than most humans at many tasks within a few years. This would change things drastically for animals in factory farms, in the wild, and beyond… and therefore animal advocates’ strategies should change, too. In this post, I argue: 1. Based on recent trends in AI capabilities and advances in training techniques, truly transformative AI could arrive soon, e.g. by 2030. 2. This matters for animal advocates (if you agree it could arrive soon), because transformative AI will change the game for animals—for better or worse. 3. Animal advocates might reasonably: 1. Optimise harder for immediate results (not results in e.g. 5+ years’ time) 2. Predict how AI will change things, and try to make that go well for animals 3. Try to increase the concern that AIs or their controllers show for animals 4. Focus on building capacity to prepare for TAI 5. Shift to AI welfare, to protect potential sentient AIs from suffering 6. Shift towards all-inclusive AI safety But this is not something that animal advocates can afford to just ignore. You can change your own strategies and next steps in the light of this. This post is intended as a bit of a wake up call. For more measured, sensible posts, see here and here instead. Written in a personal capacity; I’m not speaking for the views of others at the organisations I work at. Initially prepared as an impromptu talk at the AI, Animals, & Digital Minds unconference. Thanks to Amber Ace for doing much of the writing. Thanks to Lizka Vaintrob, Engin Arıkan, Constance Li, Max Taylor, Neil Dullaghan, Kevin Xia, Lauren Mee, Renata Scarellis, James Ozden, Michael St Jules, and Ben West for feedback and comments on the draft. All mistakes are my own. Transformative AI may arrive soon 'Transformative AI' (TAI) refers to AI that is so broadly skilled that its use would drastically alter global economic, political, and social structures, potentiall