Each vote by Europe’s citizens will determine the future lives and wellbeing of billions of animals and every vote counts. Despite the recognition of the sentience of animals in the Lisbon Treaty, the EU has only attempted to govern the welfare of animals for economic purposes. International free trade agreements like the one currently being negotiated with the USA also further water down the rather limited legal protection of animals in Europe. Luckily, over the last months more than 200 election candidates from all 28 European member states have signed a pledge stating that they will work on substantial improvements for animal welfare in the coming five year Parliamentary term.