China produces and consumes more poultry than any other country — improving poultry welfare there would affect more animals than welfare reform anywhere else on Earth.
The scale of Chinese poultry production means that welfare reform there would affect more individual animals than equivalent reform anywhere else. The welfare gap between current Chinese standards and EU/UK equivalents is large: barren housing without enrichment, high stocking densities, and minimal welfare oversight are standard. But the trajectory of consumer concern about food quality and safety, combined with international supply chain pressure from global food companies, creates leverage for change. The welfare organisations working in China are playing a long game — building the producer relationships, consumer awareness and regulatory conversations that precede policy change.