This chapter summarises this volume's findings on civil society promotion of animal protection in the UK and beyond. First, we consider the rate of progress and whether we are witnessing a global shift in animal welfare. We then make the case for civic expansion by re-conceptualising the civil society to incorporate the co-existence and inter-dependencies of human and non-humans. We then reflect on the nexus between civil society, animal welfare and electoral politics. Subsequently, attention turns to the issues and lessons that emerge from civil society organisations’ (CSOs’) lobbying lawmakers in Britain. In the following section we examine prospects for animal welfare activism and whether there are grounds for optimism or pessimism at the outset of the 21st century. We close with a policy recommendation grounded in the research presented in this book.

Shifting global context?

Our international review of animal welfare shows wide variations between countries and global regions in terms of public attitudes, animal protection and civil society mobilisation. There is evidence of a general trend towards growing public support for animal welfare. However, much remains to be done to put basic protections in place in many parts of the world, including the United States and across Africa, China, Russia, Central and South America, and the Middle East. Factors that characterise countries with the lowest levels of animal welfare include poor public awareness, limited media coverage of animal protection, poverty and limited resources, weak civil society activism, state repression of non-governmental organisations, and powerful commercial lobbies for industrialised farming and extractive industries.