Reviewing progress in animal welfare science, policy and practice over recent decades reveals both significant advances and substantial remaining challenges on the path to a more welfare-conscious world.
The trajectory of animal welfare progress over recent decades is genuinely mixed. Significant advances in science, policy and practice have improved the lives of hundreds of millions of animals — EU cage bans, cosmetics testing prohibitions, better analgesic use in surgery, growing fish sentience recognition, expanding vegan food markets. At the same time, the total number of animals in intensive production has increased globally, meaning that overall animal suffering may have increased even as welfare per animal improved in some systems. The challenges ahead are systemic: reducing total animal use through dietary transition, extending meaningful welfare standards to all production systems globally, and building the political will to prioritise animal welfare in agricultural policy. The welfare movement has the science, the public support and the economic tools — the remaining need is sustained political and institutional engagement.