Hello FAST community I hope you're all doing great! We would like to invite you to register for our Third Latin American Congress of Animal Law, Arba 2025, which will be held virtually on Thursday, November 13, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Peruvian time). We believe that holding this third congress represents a significant achievement for the region. For the third consecutive year, we are sharing our experiences and progress in regional work for the protection and welfare of animals. This effort continues to grow, and Latin America is consolidating its position as a region where significant progress is being made in this area. This free event, open to anyone interested, is held every year to showcase the progress made in animal rights and, therefore, in the movement in our region. We will have exceptional speakers, recognized for their work and experience in each of their countries 1) Esmeralda Hernández - Senator of Colombia: Abolition of bullfighting in Colombia. 2) Anna Mulá - Animal Equality: The gap between legislation and reality in the pig industry: regulatory and compliance challenges. 3) Camila Ahumada - Mercy for animals: The right to spread their wings: regulatory and ethical challenges in egg production in Latin America. 4) Cristina Alarcón - Free-Range Chicken Project of Ecuador: The presentation of the Organic Animals Law of Ecuador, the industry initiative, was defeated. 5) Catalina López - Institute of Aquatic Life: Role of animal welfare in international aquaculture certifications. 6) Sabina Bravo - Focus on Animal Law: Bad practices in the Chilean livestock industry and its administrative responsibility. 7) Francisca Ugalde - Te Protejo: Regional campaign to eradicate animal testing in cosmetics. 8) Manuel Bartra - ARBA: Bills in favor of farm animals in Peru: “Egg labeling”, “Baby pigs also feel” and “Animal welfare for land transport”. The Congress is in Spanish, but it will be recorded and later uploaded to YouTube so you can selec

16 minute read We update our list of Recommended Charities annually. This year, we announced recommendations on November 4. Each year, hundreds of billions of animals are trapped in the food industry and killed for food —that is more than all the humans who have ever walked on the face of the Earth.1 When faced with such a magnitude of suffering, it can feel overwhelming and hard to know how to help. One of the most impactful things you can do to help animals is to donate to effective animal charities—even a small donation can have a big impact. Our goal is to help you do the most good for animals by providing you with effective giving opportunities that greatly reduce their suffering. Following our comprehensive charity evaluations, we are pleased to announce our Recommended Charities! Charities awarded the status in 2025Charities retaining the status from 2024Animal Welfare ObservatoryAquatic Life InstituteShrimp Welfare ProjectÇiftlik Hayvanlarını Koruma DerneğiSociedade Vegetariana BrasileiraDansk Vegetarisk ForeningThe Humane LeagueGood Food FundWild Animal InitiativeSinergia Animal The Humane League (working globally), Shrimp Welfare Project (in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and India), and Wild Animal Initiative (global) have continued to work on the most important issues for animals using highly effective methods, and all have had their status as Recommended Charities renewed after being thoroughly re-evaluated this year. We are delighted to once again recommend Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira (Brazil)—last recommended in 2020 (status lasting two years). This year, a newly-evaluated charity joins their ranks: Animal Welfare Observatory (Spain). Aquatic Life Institute (global), Çiftlik Hayvanlarını Koruma Derneği (Turkiye), Dansk Vegetarisk Forening (Denmark and E.U.), Good Food Fund (China), and Sinergia Animal (Latin America, Ecuador, Indonesia, Peru, and Thailand) have all retained their two-year Recommended Charity status from 2024.

Dear colleagues, As part of our efforts to bring more donors and funding into the farmed animal protection movement, Senterra (formerly Farmed Animal Funders) just published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) about our funder community and ways we’re coordinating to drive outsized impact. The piece aims to persuade SSIR’s readers, including many philanthropic and social impact leaders, that our cause and the collaborative donor community backing it offer a “big bang for your buck” opportunity to address animal suffering and other urgent, global problems. We also hope the piece will help those working on other underfunded, complex, or emerging causes to build similar donor networks that can push limited resources further. We’d be grateful for your support in sharing this with your networks, particularly prospective funders. Special thanks to Senterra Steering Committee Member and The Navigation Fund President David Coman-Hidy for coauthoring this piece, and many thanks to Senterra’s members for serving as its inspiration. Best, Shannon P.S.: Please also check out my recent interview in Current Affairs about turning the public’s inherent compassion for animals into political power.

Animal Law Focus, with the support of the Aquatic Animal Alliance and the communications development of Marketing Vegano, launched the global campaign #22Minutes, an initiative that seeks to debunk one of the most persistent myths in the debate about animals: that fish do not feel pain. Every year, billions of fish are slaughtered without legal recognition of their capacity to suffer. The name of the campaign refers to the average time it takes for a fish to die from suffocation once removed from the water: up to 22 minutes of agony, a slow, invisible and deeply painful process. The campaign seeks to bring scientific evidence to the fore, raise awareness in society and promote legal and ethical improvements in the protection of aquatic animals. Also, and as part of the campaign, Animal Law Focus is joining forces with Animal Interseccional to launch the recipe book ‘22 Minutes Without Terror’, a culinary proposal that invites people to celebrate Halloween with dishes that are 100% plant-based, economical and accessible, and can be made in less than 22 minutes. The recipe book will be available free of charge and will be distributed globally during Halloween week via the organisations' Instagram accounts. Follow the campaign: Instagram | Website Subscribe to get exclusive content, campaign materials, and upcoming event updates. Share our posts and help us bring visibility to fish sentience and suffering. If your organisation would like to join or collaborate, write to us directly — we’d love to connect: sabina@animallawfocus.org  Upcoming events: 13 November 2025: International webinar in English — “Sentience in Fishes: Safeguarding Fish Welfare Across Different Contexts”, with Dr Lynne Sneddon (University of Gothenburg). Register here.  December 2025:  Spanish-language webinar coming soon. Together, we can make the suffering of fish visible — and build a world that recognises their right to live free from cruelty. Thank you for reading!

Dear colleagues, As part of our efforts to bring more donors and funding into the farmed animal protection movement, Senterra (formerly Farmed Animal Funders) just published an article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) about our funder community and ways we’re coordinating to drive outsized impact. The piece aims to persuade SSIR’s readers, including many philanthropic and social impact leaders, that our cause and the collaborative donor community backing it offer a “big bang for your buck” opportunity to address animal suffering and other urgent, global problems. We also hope the piece will help those working on other underfunded, complex, or emerging causes to build similar donor networks that can push limited resources further. We’d be grateful for your support in sharing this with your networks, particularly prospective funders. Special thanks to Senterra Steering Committee Member and The Navigation Fund President David Coman-Hidy for coauthoring this piece, and many thanks to Senterra’s members for serving as its inspiration. Best, Shannon P.S.: Please also check out my recent interview in Current Affairs about turning the public’s inherent compassion for animals into political power.

EVFA’s Documentary Research Grant backs nonfiction projects at the moment when research, access, and story exploration define what a film can become!  Each selected filmmaker receives an $8,000 USD grant for feasibility research, access-building, and core preparatory materials. Over 8–10 weeks (Jan–Mar 2026) participants will follow a guided pathway with clear check-ins, one-to-one mentorship, and two group sessions, to finish with a solid treatment, audience definition, distribution map, and a practical impact plan. Who should apply: Filmmakers developing feature docs or series that tackle ethical-systems stories- culture, climate, human stories, and our relationship with non-human life. Deadline: 6 November 2025 Notifications: Early December 2025 Grant amount: $8,000 USD Apply here: https://forms.gle/3jVyE5am76dGWhf26  Read more about the grant below: What type of projects are eligible for the Research Grant? Feature documentaries and docuseries (episodic) are both eligible, including non-English language projects. Projects must be in the research or pre-research phase (not already in pre-production, production, or post), should align broadly with topics tackling ethical consumption (food, animals, culture and climate), and be open to pivoting (if necessary) based on research findings. Who decides which projects are awarded the funding? A review committee is being built from our advisory board, and this will be the deciding body.  How long will the research period be? The research period will run for about 8-10 weeks between January and March, with some flexibility based on filmmaker’s commitments. How many filmmakers will receive the grant? 3-5 filmmakers / filmmaking teams. Can I still apply if I’ve already started research? Yes, as long as you’re open to the potential that your film, story or characters may change direction if that’s where the research takes you. Where should the money go? Funds can be used to support your own time and