The amount and direction of welfare research funding determines how quickly our understanding of animal welfare improves. Current funding significantly underestimates the scale of welfare problems.
The quality and quantity of animal welfare science is constrained by funding. Research priorities reflect economic and political interests — farm animal welfare research is funded partly by industry, which tends to favour findings compatible with current practice. Welfare research on wild animals, invertebrates, and less economically significant companion animal species is severely underfunded despite the enormous scale of suffering involved. Effective welfare advocates recognise that funding research — particularly in neglected areas — is one of the highest-impact contributions possible, as better welfare science directly informs better welfare policy and practice.