Denmark is a marginally adequate performer under the VACI (on a par with France and Poland), due largely to its high consumption of animal products.
Severe welfare problems are inherent to fur production and animals on all fur farms have been found to exhibit serious health issues and stress-related symptoms as infected wounds, self-mutilation, infanticide, cannibalism and stereotypical behaviour.
Joh Vinding
Denmark is a marginally adequate performer under the VACI (on a par with France and Poland), due largely to its high consumption of animal products.
Denmark slaughters around 21.9 land-based animals per person / year, which is more than twice the global average of 9.7. The country’s dependency on farm animals is also higher than average, with around 5.7 farm animals per person (compared with a global average of around 4). Factory farming remains widespread. Egg-laying hens are confined in ‘enriched cages’, broilers are produced in intensive systems and pregnant pigs may be confined for at least a portion of their pregnancies in sow stalls and farrowing crates.
The Danish diet contains a very high proportion of animal products, with around 61% of the average person’s diet being made up of land-based animal protein (compared with a global average of 35.2%). This equates to each person consuming around 61.2g of land-based animal protein per day (compared with a global average of 26.7g).
Denmark was given a “B” under the Animal Protection Index (API), and is also a good performer under the Sanctioning Cruelty category. Danish animal welfare laws and enforcement mechanisms go well beyond the requirements of the EU. Learn more about the quality of Denmark’s legislative protections on the API here.