Animal welfare is a growing global policy priority. Understanding the trajectory of change helps advocates identify the most promising opportunities to improve lives for billions of animals.
The global animal welfare movement is at an inflection point. Legislative progress in the EU, UK, and increasingly in the US and developing world is establishing minimum standards for billions of animals. Consumer and investor pressure is driving corporate welfare commitments that exceed regulatory requirements. Technological development in alternative proteins offers the possibility of dramatically reducing the number of animals in suffering-prone farming systems. Simultaneously, the scale of current suffering — tens of billions of farm animals, hundreds of billions of fish — means the gap between current conditions and adequate welfare remains enormous.