Choosing the right welfare metrics ensures that welfare assessment captures what matters to animals rather than what is convenient to measure for humans.
Welfare metrics matter because what gets measured determines what gets improved. Traditional welfare regulation focused on structural measures like minimum cage size, stocking density, and provision of resources. Research has shown these structural measures correlate poorly with actual animal welfare outcomes. Animal-based measures that directly assess the welfare state of animals — prevalence of injuries, lameness, body condition, fear of humans, stereotypic behavior rates, and positive welfare indicators — provide much more accurate pictures of welfare. The Welfare Quality project developed and validated comprehensive animal-based welfare assessment protocols for major farm species that are now being used in auditing and research worldwide.