Animal welfare science is a rapidly developing academic field that generates the evidence base needed to improve practical welfare standards, with key research priorities spanning sentience, pain, positive welfare and assessment methods.
Welfare science provides the evidence foundation for practical welfare improvements. Research on pain recognition in fish, cognitive complexity in invertebrates, stress indicators in farmed species and the effectiveness of enrichment interventions directly translates into better welfare standards. The field has advanced enormously in the past three decades — from a focus primarily on preventing suffering to understanding what positive welfare looks like and how to promote it. Research gaps remain significant, particularly for fish, invertebrates and wild animals. Investing in welfare science is one of the highest-leverage actions available, as rigorous evidence changes both policy and practice.