Malaysia is a very poor performer under the VACI (on par with Myanmar), due largely to its high level of production and consumption of animal products.
Malaysia is a very poor performer under the VACI (on par with Myanmar), due largely to its high level of production and consumption of animal products.
Malaysia slaughters around 28.1 land-based animals per person / year, which is significantly higher than the global average of 9.7. Around 99% of the animals slaughtered in Malaysia are poultry. The country’s dependency on farm animals is high, with around 11.5 farm animals per person (compared with a global average of around 4). Factory farming is widespread, particularly in poultry and pig production.
The Malaysian diet contains a relatively high proportion of animal products, with around 43.4% 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 27.8g of land-based animal protein per day (compared with a global average of 26.7g). Vegetarianism and veganism is common amongst the country’s Hindu population.
Malaysia was given a “C” under the Animal Protection Index (API), and is also an adequate performer under the Sanctioning Cruelty category. Whilst Malaysia has animal protection laws, its application is partial. For example, the legislation continues to permit cruel animal husbandry practices, such as extreme confinement and mutilations. The API also states that the laws are inadequate in protecting animals in captivity. Learn more about the quality of Malaysia’s legislative protections on the API here.