The trajectory of animal welfare improvement over the coming decades will be shaped by technology, policy, cultural change and the growing scientific understanding of animal sentience.
The outlook for animal welfare is genuinely improving in many dimensions — welfare legislation is expanding globally, alternative proteins are disrupting industrial farming, and scientific understanding of animal sentience is growing rapidly. The greatest challenges remain in low-income countries with rapidly expanding livestock sectors, in aquaculture, and in addressing wild animal suffering at scale. Technology, cultural change and sustained advocacy can together dramatically reduce the amount of suffering experienced by animals in the coming decades.