Global Animal Welfare: Disparities and Priorities

Animal welfare standards vary enormously between countries, with billions of animals in developing regions experiencing conditions that would be illegal in many high-income countries.

Key Facts

An estimated 80% of the world's farm animals live in low- and middle-income countries with minimal welfare regulation
China produces approximately 50% of the world's pigs; welfare regulations there are evolving but limited
Working animal welfare in Africa, Asia, and Latin America remains largely unregulated
International welfare standards from OIE (now WOAH) are voluntary and widely ignored
Global food supply chains connect high-standard consumer markets to low-standard producer markets

Welfare Considerations

Global animal welfare is the largest unaddressed welfare challenge in the world. The billions of farm animals, working animals, and companion animals in low-income countries typically live without any welfare protection. The global food trade allows high-income consumers to benefit indirectly from production standards they would not tolerate domestically. International welfare improvement requires both domestic consumer demand for welfare-conscious products and investment in welfare capacity-building in producing countries. Organisations working on global animal welfare including WSPA (World Animal Protection) and Brooke face enormous challenges but have demonstrated that international welfare improvement is achievable.

What You Can Do

Support international animal welfare organisations including World Animal Protection and Brooke
Advocate for welfare standards in international trade agreements and food import regulations
Choose food products with supply chain transparency about welfare conditions in producing countries
Support capacity-building programmes that develop animal welfare infrastructure in low-income countries
Engage with the global scale of animal welfare as a priority issue alongside domestic concerns