Pioneering Photojournalism Agency, We Animals, Celebrates Six Years of Global Growth

Jo-Anne McArthur photographing a farmed pig. Credit: Kelly Guerin 2019

An Eastern grey kangaroo and her joey who survived the forest fires in Mallacoota, Australia, 2020. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals

Ready for slaughter, six-week-old chickens are caught and packed into crates, Poland, 2018. Andrew Skowron / HIDDEN / We Animals

Award-winning Canadian Photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur Inspires a New Genre of Photography

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, July 21, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- We Animals, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the emerging genre of animal photojournalism, is celebrating its growth from one woman and her camera to over 150 photojournalists across 85 countries since its inception in July 2019.

Born from award-winning photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur’s desire to accurately document how we use animals, We Animals pioneered a new era of photography that represents not only wild or charismatic animals, but those historically underrepresented yet with whom we have very close contact: the animals we eat and wear, the animals used in research, and the animals we use for entertainment, work, and in religious practice.

Offering more than 35,000 photos and videos of animal issues around the globe, the We Animals stock platform has quickly become an invaluable resource for advocates, media, and researchers with:

- 1400+ Organizations benefitting from We Animals’ work
- 1600+ Media uses of We Animals’ visuals
- 150+ Countries where We Animals’ visuals have appeared
- 35+ awards recognizing the poignant depictions of animal lives in We Animal’s photographs and films, including Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Nature Photographer of the Year, Big Picture, Picture of the Year International, and the Global Peace Award

We Animals founder Jo-Anne McArthur has visited over sixty countries to document our fraught relationship with animals, with her powerful images earning multiple awards and accolades. Reflecting on the nature of animal photojournalism, a genre she spearheaded, Jo-Anne says:

“We put ourselves in precarious places to document the lives of animals, and it’s often horrific. Animal photojournalists are asked why we do it. It’s so that you can see and feel these moments. It seems impossible to us - that we treat others this way. We’re amazed that it’s legal, but of course it is; it’s standard practice. A violent death is an event that millions of animals experience every second of every day.

So, we ask you to look, to put yourself in their place, and imagine what it's like to be them in that moment. Ultimately, the work we do goes for the big questions: is it worth it? Is this right? How must it change?”

From public and environmental health crises to zoonotic viruses, animals are inextricably linked to many areas of current global concern, and animal photojournalism is of increasing interest. We Animals’ work has been essential in fulfilling the growing demand for compelling visuals of critical animal welfare issues, with more than 38,000 downloads from the stock platform in 2024 alone. Expressions of gratitude for this free resource abound:

"Editors/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 other animal photographers." Kenny Torella, VOX

"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 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.

We are immensely grateful to the photographers who have risked and sacrificed so much to capture these images and allow people like us to use them." Ann Katelynn Linder, Harvard Law School

“We really appreciate the ability to have accurate depictions of North American, especially Canadian, farms to use in our advocacy and education work. There is simply nothing else like the We Animals library.” British Columbia SPCA

We Animals believes seeing is an essential step in repairing our species’ broken relationship with non-human animals and the planet. With the escalating repercussions due to human activities like factory farming, habitat destruction, and climate change, we will continue to amplify our efforts, and we thank everyone who has chosen not to look away.

Toni Vernelli
We Animals
+1 604-865-0046
email us here
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
X

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.