Malaysia is a poor performer (“E”) under the VACI, on par with Canada. The country has high levels of animal production and consumption, and its farmed animal protection legislation is lacking.
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Malaysia slaughters around 28.8 land-based animals per person per year, compared with the global average of 10.1. More than 99% of the animals slaughtered in Malaysia are chickens and other farmed birds. The country’s dependence on farmed animals is high, around 10.6 farmed animals per person, versus a global average of 4.1. Factory farming is widespread, particularly with pigs, chickens and other farmed birds.
The Malaysian diet contains a relatively high proportion of animal products, with around 42.6% of the average person’s diet made up of land-based animal protein, compared with the global average of 35.2%. Each person consumes around 26.5g of land-based animal protein per day, versus a global average of 27.2g. Vegetarianism (5% of the population) is common within the Hindu community.
Malaysia is an adequate performer (“C”) under the Animal Protection Index (API), although its farmed animal protection legislation achieved a very poor performance (“F”) rating under the same index. Although Malaysia tightened its animal protection laws in 2015, enforcement is only partial. The legislation does not provide clear guidance or adequate protection for farmed animals who are still subject to cruel animal husbandry practices. Learn more about the quality of Malaysia’s legislative protections on the API here.