We Animals Surpasses 100,000 Visual Downloads

This keyword word cloud shows the diversity of visual content searched for and downloaded via our stock platform.

100,000 downloads

100,000 downloads of images and videos exposing critical animal stories that the world desperately needs to see.

100,000 downloads from users—campaigners, journalists, media, academics, activists—worldwide.

100,000 downloads of animal stories that have historically remained hidden from the public eye transformed into social media campaigns, billboards, policy briefs, academic reports, and more.

Thank YOU for being part of this accomplishment.

Since launching our new-and-improved stock platform in May 2021, our goal has been to make the plight of animals visible worldwide. Visibility is a crucial piece of the puzzle in pursuing the animal justice we are all working towards.

As the saying goes, a photograph speaks a thousand words. With this six-figure download milestone, we are hopeful that the photographs you help disseminate are speaking millions of words for animals who need us to be their voice.

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“I spent years on the road photographing animal stories, driven by a passion to reduce animal suffering. But storing these images on my hard drive wasn’t enough to create change. Our world-class stock site now tracks usage and helps NGOs and activists access the visuals they need for impactful campaigns and conversations.”— Jo-Anne McArthur, We Animals Founder

Which images are being downloaded?

Of these 100,000+ downloads, 17,800+ are unique visuals shot at global locations by 116 of our contributors.

63% of all downloads are related to animals farmed for food, by far the most popular category for our users. With farmed animals being the most exploited animals in the world, their visibility is paramount. Visuals related to change and progress are the second most downloaded, at 22%, followed by fashion, entertainment and aquatic life at 2-3%.

Location of Visuals

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“The visuals are highly important to the impact of our campaigns. They help us create empathy in the public for non-human animals. These images allow us to showcase the truth, providing validity and purpose behind the change we are demanding.”— Sydney South (Associate Director of Design), The Humane League

Top 10 Most Downloaded Visuals

[Content warning: Contains confronting images and/or video footage]

01

No longer of use for experimentation, laboratory mice are asphyxiated by carbon dioxide and then bagged for incineration. USA, 2020. Roger Kingbird / HIDDEN / We Animals.

A purpose bred beagle at a veterinary school. Spain, 2010.

Jo-Anne McArthur / Animal Equality / We Animals

02

To produce the luxury food item foie gras, ducks and geese are force-fed to fatten their livers up to 10 times their natural size. Spain, 2011.

Luis Tato / Animal Equality / We Animals

03

A rabbit is immobilized in a restraint before having her ears bled. Spain, 2019.

Carlota Saorsa / HIDDEN / We Animals

04

A pregnant sow, confined in a farrowing crate on a British pig farm, looks directly into the camera. Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, 2019.

Christopher Shoebridge / We Animals

05

Ron, a chimpanzee rescued from invasive research, in his nest of blankets at Save the Chimps in 2002. USA, 2011. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals.

Rabbits next in line for slaughter. Spain, 2010.

Jo-Anne McArthur / Animal Equality / We Animals

06

Workers sort hours-old chicks on a conveyor belt at a chicken hatchery. The hatchery will vaccinate the healthiest chicks. Spain, 2011.

Luis Tato / Animal Equality / We Animals

07

Bluefin tuna are caught in the Mediterranean Sea for the sushi market. Once hooked on board, they are stabbed and left to suffocate and bleed out. Italy, 2012. Jonás Amadeo Lucas / HIDDEN / We Animals

A rescued dairy cow and her calf, allowed to stay together after being rescued by Farm Sanctuary. Watkins Glen, New York, USA, 2012.

Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

08

Photographs of animal use manuals from the Coulston Foundation, a former animal testing laboratory. Coulston Foundation, Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA, 2008.

Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

09

After being used for drug testing, a dead rabbit lies on the floor in view of hutches full of live rabbits. Spain, 2019.

Carlota Saorsa / HIDDEN / We Animals

10

The interior of the transport truck is reflected in this cow’s eye. Canada, 2018.

Louise Jorgensen / HIDDEN / We Animals

Who is downloading and from where?

Our images and videos have been downloaded in 78 different countries by 2,911 users, on every continent except Antarctica! Our stock platform users consist of organizations (both large and small), media outlets, and many individuals.

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“Editors and writers who cover animal issues: I highly, highly recommend We Animals’ royalty-free photo and video database. Photos are compelling and high-quality, thanks to Jo-Anne McArthur and many other animal photographers.” — Kenny Torella (Senior Reporter), Vox

How are downloads being used?

More than 50% of these downloads have been used for awareness raising and humane education, followed by academic work at 10%.

84% of downloads are images and 16% videos. We see that academic work favours images; while our video content is primarily being used on social media, followed by documentaries and short films and various art installations.

Sweeper at the beach in Canada. Photo credit: Cindy Hughes.

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“The images we were able to use from We Animals allowed us to bring our research to life in vivid color. They brought a power, depth, and dimensionality to our work and breathed so much life into the text. We feel incredibly fortunate to have a resource like this that we can turn to in order to illustrate our reports. Their images elevate our work and make real the tensions, problems, and challenges that we try to document through our research.” — Ann Katelynn Linder (Associate Director of Policy and Research), Harvard Law School

Every photograph can shape conversations and further political, economic, and moral progress. Documenting the lives of hidden animals and offering those visuals for free through our stock platform, the impact of our 120+ contributors is far-reaching. These visuals have been used in campaigns, media articles, and academic institutions worldwide, in 150+ countries, and by 1,408 organizations.

We Animals launched the [then named] We Animals Archive in March 2017 with the goal of providing a free resource to the animal advocacy movement as well as a long-term home for the documentation of these important animal stories, which would have otherwise remained hidden from the public eye. Thousands of images were also downloaded from the Archive before we upgraded to our stock platform and began to track the number of downloads and their use. To this day, the We Animals stock platform remains a free resource for those working to inspire compassion, conversation, and change for animals around the globe.

Visit the We Animals stock platform to explore and download images and videos from our collection of 30,000+ visuals. Subscribe to our Stock Alerts for monthly updates on the latest visuals available.

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