Animal Rights by Country 2025

Laws Meet OIE Standards

Partial - varies by location

Unknown

Yes

Laws Meet OIE Standards

61 countries

17 countries

13 countries

Country	Animal Rights Ranking (US News) 2024↓	Laws Meet OIE Standards	Laws Against Animal Cruelty	Recognition of Animal Sentience	Recognition of Animal Suffering	Support at UN
Qatar	89
United Arab Emirates	88
Saudi Arabia	87	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Kuwait	86
China	85	No	No	No	No	No
South Korea	84	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Bahrain	83
Malaysia	82	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Serbia	81
Uruguay	80	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Lebanon	79	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	No
Russia	78	No	Yes	No	No	No
Oman	77
Panama	76
Singapore	75
Iran	74	No	No	No	No	No
Algeria	73	No	Yes, but unenforced	No	No	No
Cambodia	72	No	No	No	No	Yes
Bangladesh	71
Vietnam	70	No	No	No	No	No
Myanmar	69	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Tunisia	68
Jordan	67
Cyprus	66	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Indonesia	65	No	Yes	Partial - mental health recognized	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Philippines	64	No	Yes	Partial - mental health recognized	Yes	Partial (various internal departments)
Mexico	63	No	Yes	Partial - varies by location	Yes	No
Dominican Republic	62
Honduras	61
Israel	60
Ukraine	59	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Egypt	58	No	Yes, but unenforced	No	Yes	No
Uzbekistan	57
Sri Lanka	56
Bulgaria	55	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Brazil	54	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ghana	53
El Salvador	52
Kazakhstan	51	No	Yes	No	No	No
Morocco	50	No	Yes, but unenforced	No	Yes	No
Azerbaijan	49	No	No	No	No	No
Japan	48	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Guatemala	47
Turkey	46	No	Yes	Partial - mental health recognized	Yes	No
Costa Rica	45	Unknown	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Peru	44	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Belarus	43	No	No	No	No	No
Lithuania	42	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Colombia	41	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Slovakia	40	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Latvia	39	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Thailand	38	No	Yes	No	Yes	Partial (various internal departments)
Cameroon	37
Ecuador	36
Slovenia	35	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Romania	34	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Czech Republic	33	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Croatia	32	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Zimbabwe	31	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Estonia	30	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Argentina	29	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
India	28	No	Yes	No	Yes	Partial (Animal Welfare Board)
Chile	27	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Italy	26	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Kenya	25	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Greece	24	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Food)
Portugal	23	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Hungary	22	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
South Africa	21	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Luxembourg	20	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
France	19	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Spain	18	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Belgium	18	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Poland	17	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
United States	16	Partial - varies by location	Yes	Partial - varies by location	Yes	Partial (various internal departments)
United Kingdom	15	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (various internal departments)
Germany	13	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Iceland	12
Ireland	11	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Switzerland	10	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Austria	9	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (various internal departments)
Netherlands	8	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Norway	7	No	Yes	Partial - mental health recognized	Yes	No
Finland	6	Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Agriculture)
Denmark	5	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Food)
Sweden	4	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Canada	3	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
New Zealand	2	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Australia	1	Partial - varies by location	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Pakistan		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Ethiopia		No	Yes	No	No	No
DR Congo		No	No	No	No	No
Tanzania		No	Yes	Partial - some animals excluded	Yes	Yes
Angola		No	No	No	No	No
Mozambique		No	No	No	No	No
Madagascar		No	No	No	No	No
Venezuela		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Niger		No	Yes	No	Partial - domestic only	No
North Korea		No	Yes	No	No	No
Mali		No	Yes	No	No	No
Malawi		No	Yes, but unenforced	No	Yes	No
Zambia		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Hong Kong		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Paraguay		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Eritrea		No	No	No	No	No
Mongolia		No	No	No	No	No
Bosnia and Herzegovina		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Namibia		No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Botswana		No	Yes	No	No	No
Lesotho		No	Yes, but unenforced	No	No	No
Mauritius		No	Yes	No	No	No
Eswatini		No	Yes, but unenforced	No	Yes	No
Fiji		No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Malta		Unknown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Partial (Minister for Resources)
Seychelles		No	Yes	No	No	Yes

The annual US News “Cares about Animal Rights” score is a ranking. As such, lower numbers equate to higher rank and are preferable.
Animal Rights covers a vast range of subtopics, many of which are addressed by individual laws in each country.
Such topics include (but are not limited to) whaling, dog fighting, cockfighting, bullfighting, the use of battery cages for chickens or gestation crates for pigs, foie gras production in ducks, the use and treatment of animals in circuses, goose pulling, treatment of animals during transport or during the slaughtering/rendering process, animal husbandry regulations, conservation of wild animals and their habitats, and treatment of animals kept as pets.

When considering animal rights, it is important to note that only a few countries have included animal protection in their governmental charter document, such as a constitution. The countries that have enshrined language protecting animals in their constitution are the following:

Switzerland (adopted in 1973)
India (adopted in 1976)
Brazil (adopted in 1988)
Slovenia (adopted in 1991)
Germany (adopted in 2002)
Luxembourg (adopted in 2007)
Austria (adopted in 2013)
Egypt (adopted in 2014)
Russia (adopted in 2020)

Animals Have No Legal “Rights” Under Human Laws

The provisions in these constitutional documents or constitutional amendments include language regarding the protection of animals, animal welfare, the dignity of animals, compassion for animals, and prohibitions against animal cruelty. However, there is no express description of any animal “rights.” Even the anti-cruelty laws are about what humans cannot legally do, not necessarily about abused animals’ rights.

There is concern for animals in many places, except for these 11 countries: Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cambodia, China, DR Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Madagascar, and Mongolia. Those countries have no laws protecting animals. China and Iran are the worst. For example, China has cities with annual dog-eating festivals; overall, animal abuse in China is horrific.

Here is a list of the countries in the world and whether they have at least the basic legal prohibitions against animal cruelty, even if the law is not enforced.