The Open Philanthropy Project awarded a grant of €498,928 ($535,699 at time of conversion) to Eurogroup for Animals to support its work to improve fish welfare. This grant falls within Open Philanthropy's work on farm animal welfare.
Eurogroup for Animals is an organization that works to improve the treatment of animals within the European Union (EU). It does this in part by representing other animal welfare organizations in the EU, and by providing advice and expertise on animal welfare to various European institutions.
According to the best estimates Open Philanthropy is aware of, fish account for about three quarters of all vertebrate farmed animals. Although conditions vary greatly by species and country, Open Philanthropy's understanding is that most fish are farmed for longer and in harsher conditions than those experienced by most other farm animals. Consequently, Open Philanthropy finds it plausible that fish farming could be the greatest cause of farm animal suffering globally. Despite this, Open Philanthropy is not aware of any major animal welfare groups that have campaigns focused on fish welfare, and therefore believes that it is important to start building this area of farm animal welfare advocacy.