We are excited to feature Animal Friends Jogja (AFJ) as our organization of the month this May. AFJ's tireless dedication to animal welfare has made a significant impact in Indonesia and beyond. Their insightful presentation at the Asia Farm Animal Day 2022 session on "Compassion Fatigue in Animal Advocates" highlighted their commitment to addressing the emotional challenges faced by those in the field. Since 2020, AFJ has bolstered their advocacy efforts by supporting an impressive 97 appeal letters from Asia for Animals (AfA), reflecting their proactive stance in promoting humane treatment and policy changes for animals across Asia. Through AfA working groups, including the Farm Animal Coalition (FAC), AFJ has joined workshops and gained a wealth of knowledge, including research and networks with organizations all around Asia.
According to AFJ, the FAC working group is integral to their efforts, as it provides a platform to share and support each other towards our common goal of better welfare for farmed animals, ending cages in Indonesia and the wider Asia and Pacific region. Join FAC in celebrating AFJ's remarkable contributions and learn more about their inspiring journey and initiatives.
Who is AFJ?
Animal Friends Jogja (AFJ) is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 and committed to advocating for animal rights and protection in Indonesia. AFJ is part of the Member League of Organizzazione Internazionale Protezione Animali (OIPA- associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information), member of the Dog Meat Free Indonesia (DMFI) coalition, Act for Farmed Animals (AFFA) coalition with Sinergia Animal, member of Asia for Animals - Farm Animal Coalition (FAC) and Policy Coalition (APC), and the Open Wing Alliance (OWA). In 2016, AFJ began campaigning on the issue of farmed animal welfare and became the first NGO to raise this issue in Indonesia.
What is AFJ about?
AFJ works to improve animal welfare in the Special Region of Yogyakarta specifically, and in Indonesia generally, through education, campaigns, advocacy, adoption, and sterilization programs. AFJ’s campaign programs aim to raise awareness about animal welfare issues, engage in grassroots movements with the community, disseminate education, and seek more compassionate solutions for the causes we advocate. AFJ has conducted five campaigns: Stop Traveling Dolphin Circus, Dog Meat Free Indonesia, Care for Carriage Working Horses, Ban Masked Dancing Monkeys, and Go Cage-Free Indonesia. In 2020, AFJ, along with other animal protection organizations, achieved success in the Stop Traveling Dolphin Circus campaign, leading to the closure of the last traveling dolphin circus in Indonesia.
What makes AFJ the organization of the month?
Cage-Free Indonesia is a movement initiated by AFJ to raise awareness about the welfare of farmed animals, particularly laying hens, in Indonesia. AFJ has expanded the movement in Indonesia through a holistic approach encompassing corporate outreach, producer outreach, public outreach, and advocating to central and local governments on higher welfare standards and cage-free transitions away from conventional intensive cage systems.
AFJ actively collaborates with other organizations working on similar issues, sharing and supporting each other towards our goal of better welfare for farmed animals, and ending cages in Indonesia and the wider region. All this while also running two sanctuaries with an active spay and neuter program for stray animals, and campaigning on animal rights for working carriage horses, stopping dog meat trade and consumption, and the trade of macaques.
Launch of the Asia Cage-Free Benchmark Report
Credits: Open Wing Alliance
AFJ employs a holistic approach in its work, including efforts to transition to cage-free farming for laying hens and ducks. One of the initiatives undertaken by AFJ is participating in the team responsible for creating the Asia Cage-Free Benchmark and its report. The Asia Cage-Free Benchmark is a collaborative initiative by members of the Open Wing Alliance, led by the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan, and was launched online through a webinar that invited central and local governments, academics, and organizations to discuss how the benchmark applied to the Indonesian context. The launch of the Asia Cage-Free Benchmark Report reached 19 local media outlets, including an exclusive feature by one of Indonesia's largest media outlets, received 36 global media mentions from eight different countries, and garnered 42 million unique monthly views locally, and 119 million unique monthly views globally.
First Cage-Free Cooperative in Indonesia
AFJ actively conducts seminars and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with battery cage farmers, inviting several speakers such as Global Food Partners, cage-free farms, and local government representatives. The greatest achievement from these seminars conducted by AFJ is the establishment of the first cage-free farming cooperative in Indonesia in 2023.
Collaboration with Government: Incorporating Animal Welfare Issues into the Regional Long-Term Development Plan (Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Panjang Daerah)
AFJ conducted a Government Focus Group Discussion event in December 2023, entitled "Animal Welfare for Chicken and Duck Farming: Looking at the Future of Animal Farming in Indonesia.” In line with celebrations for International Animal Rights Day (December 10th), the focus group discussion with the central government and local governments on December 11th, 2023 aimed to improve the welfare of laying hens and ducks through: discussing government policies aligned with animal welfare principles, and how they relate to conventional caged systems for laying hen and duck farming; as well as making recommendations for the government to include initiatives that support transitions to better welfare in their budget and regulations.
This event facilitated stakeholders, including relevant governments, a few corporations, academics, producers, and organizations, to engage in a joint discussion about regulations and the implementation of welfare standards for farmed animals, especially laying hens and ducks.
While several government regulations have been issued to regulate the livestock industry, the presence of strict rules and regulations is crucial to ensure the application of animal welfare principles in the practices of hen and egg-laying duck farming in Indonesia.
The outcomes of this event will be integrated into the Regional Long-Term Development Plan for the years 2025-2045 and are expected to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to animal protection and welfare.
Company Commitments
AFJ, individually and together with the Act for Farmed Animals coalition (AFFA) and Open Wing Alliance (OWA), has taken various negotiation steps and campaigns to obtain cage-free commitments from companies. From our first commitment in 2020 until the end of 2023, AFJ gained 32 commitments to transition to using cage-free eggs. From the 2023 commitments alone, which includes Jollibee Foods Corporation, the largest restaurant group in Asia, the potential number of laying hens that could be transitioned to cage-free or free-range farms is approximately 39,499,191 individuals.
In February 2023, AFJ organized the AFJ F.A.I.R (Animal Friends Jogja - Farmed Animals Initiative Response) with the theme “Sedulur Care” (“Everyone Supports Cage-Free Eggs”). This event, which is an innovative approach in the form of a festival, serves as a means to spread awareness about the cage-free program across all sectors and connect stakeholders. It introduces businesses that have committed to using cage-free eggs with cage-free farmers and connects them with businesses and farmers who have not yet transitioned to cage-free, as well as providing a platform for public awareness of the eggs they consume.
AFJ F.A.I.R successfully brought together 11 local businesses that have committed to being cage-free, two large-scale cage-free producers, conventional battery cage farmers, government representatives, two consumer organizations, three farmed animal welfare organizations, and approximately 500 visitors who participated in the event.
The impact generated was very positive, and battery cage farmers attending the event were able to meet with cage-free farmers to learn about the benefits and systems. Additionally, the Indonesian Consumers Protection Foundation (YLKI) considered the event successful, and they applied the same model to an event they organized in Jakarta, cooperating with the government on the broiler issue. Furthermore, the event information spread quite widely, as shown by a cage-free farmer from another town who came to the event and wanted to participate in the next AFJ F.A.I.R., even though, initially, they were not invited.
AFJ also campaigns against companies that have not yet committed to transitioning to using cage-free eggs, such as McDonald’s Indonesia. So far, more than 38,000 people have supported and signed the online petition, and have written messages demanding that McDonald’s Indonesia promptly make a commitment to the welfare of laying hens in Indonesia. AFJ also released a video in collaboration with influencers - which received over 70,000 views in the first four weeks and reached more than 500,000 people - urging McDonald’s to switch to cage-free eggs.
Other campaign actions included a tour of five cities in Indonesia, where the team visited 20 McDonald’s stores in four cities to meet with the store managers, handing them a postcard and a photo collage showcasing the lives of battery-caged hens. This act symbolizes the aspirations of consumers who want McDonald’s to publish their cage-free commitment. The team also organized three street actions in three cities, poster slapping in four cities, participated in a radio talk show, engaged with volunteers, and networked with communities in the four cities AFJ visited. Additionally, a renowned artist performed a pantomime in response to a video about hens in battery cages, followed by a talk show addressing cage-free issues, viewed by an audience of approximately 100 people. Other actions include putting up billboards and offline ads on public transportation, creating murals, and many more. In running the campaign, AFJ also involved volunteers to carry out various online and offline activities. Every month, AFJ recruits volunteers through the AFJ Farmed Animal Volunteers Program. Up to now in 2024, AFJ has recruited 60 volunteers.
Learn more about AFJ, and stay connected by following them on social media!
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