The quiet revolution in animal rights in China

Public awareness of animal welfare on the Chinese mainland is at an all-time high. The country now has the world’s second-largest pet population, estimated at 430 million in 2024 and growing strongly. The cultural shift was on full display last year when the Justice Ministry solicited public feedback on its legislative plans. In a massive show of support, an online survey pushing for anti-cruelty legislation attracted over 4.2 million votes, with 96 per cent voting in favour.Yet despite rising expectations, animal welfare legislation remains elusive. Since the mid-2010s, proposals submitted to the National People’s Congress (NPC) have regularly stalled. The barriers to national legislation are rooted in both cultural inertia and economic friction.Traditional norms sustain an anthropocentric lens, viewing animals as purely instrumental – resources or property meant to serve human interests. Meanwhile, the economic cost of strict animal welfare mandates is seen as prohibitive, threatening vast industries ranging from livestock and fur to traditional medicine.This entanglement of culture and economy has fuelled deepening divisions in Chinese society, pitting animal protection campaigners against staunch opponents.As frustrations over this legislative impasse mount, it is clear a “silver bullet” from Beijing is not currently plausible. Instead, one needs to look away from the top echelon and towards subnational regulators and local courtrooms, where a quiet, pragmatic revolution is emerging.Local experimentation is a hallmark of governance in post-reform China. Transformative shifts, such as the 1982 household contract responsibility system and creation of special economic zones from 1980, were all tested at the local level before being codified into national law. This bottom-up experimentation allows Beijing to mitigate regulatory shocks, particularly when social reception of the change is uncertain.