Background
Animal liberation activists have been buying small amounts of stock in public companies to run activist shareholder resolutions. Typically, these resolutions are accompanied by a press release and a social media campaign to put pressure on the target company to quickly cave in to activist demands.
The two most common groups running shareholder resolutions are PETA and the Humane Society of the United States. Both organizations have an animal liberation agenda and oppose the use of animals for food, clothing, or to help find cures for disease.
Companies targeted have typically been food companies (retail and restaurant) and in the pharmaceutical/drug industry.
97% Failure Rate of Animal Activist Resolutions
Data from ProxyMonitor.org shows that these resolutions are overwhelmingly rejected by shareholders if they go to a vote. A review of 76 shareholder resolutions since 2006 found that only 2 passed. The average shareholder vote supporting animal-rights resolutions was just 7%.
The Two Victories
Only 2 animal rights shareholder resolutions have succeeded. Both were congratulatory resolutions and neither resolution demanded a change to corporate supply chains.
Recent Resolutions
In 2022, there were several resolutions which all failed:
- McDonald’s faced a proxy campaign on pork sourcing, which ultimately got 1 percent shareholder support
- Kroger faced a proxy campaign on pork sourcing, which was withdrawn following the McDonald’s campaign
- Walmart faced a resolution demanding a company report on animal welfare, which garnered only 16 percent of the vote