Humánny pokrok has launched its new flagship campaign called STOP rýchlokurčatám (“STOP the fast chickens”) focusing on broiler chickens in Slovakia. The goal was to establish chicken welfare as a relevant public issue in Slovakia, secure a mandate for action from the public, and prepare the grounds for future corporate outreach efforts and pressure campaigns. We’ve launched with publishing the first investigation footage from broiler chicken farms in Slovakia, which was presented in the news segment and investigation programme of the biggest TV station in the country, reaching over half a million viewers, and an additional 1.2 million later on social media. This was followed by a campaign including an agency produced video with a local celebrity that has reached over 2 million people (over one third of the population). On top of that, we’ve published two new reports: one covering the welfare issues of fast growing breeds of broiler chickens, the market data, opinion polls, and ECC commitments and requirements, and one covering the financial aspects of transitioning to ECC compliant production in Slovakia. The reports reached an additional 1 million people through media mentions. We’ve already met with a couple of retailers and are working on additional meetings as we speak. But so far, despite some early signs of possible progress, they are trying to deflect media inquiries and public statements. The Poultry union is, surprisingly, pointing to imported chickens as the main issue, essentially throwing the ball at the retailers as well. However, the investigated farmers are ramping up their legal threats to levels not seen before, probably encouraged by the political situation in the country and decline of the rule of law.  Three weeks after the launch, the campaign collected over 30,000 petition signatures (slightly more than 0.5% of population) calling for the end of fast growing chickens, which is slightly less than we were aiming for, but should be sufficient