Animal welfare legislation in Asian countries is developing rapidly in some jurisdictions while remaining underdeveloped in others, with significant implications for billions of farmed and wild animals.
Animal welfare law in Asia is developing unevenly but with significant recent progress in some jurisdictions. The scale of livestock farming in Asia — China alone produces approximately half the world pig meat — means that welfare law development in this region has greater aggregate impact than equivalent progress in any other region. The emerging middle-class consumer demand for higher welfare standards in food products, combined with growing civil society advocacy, is creating the political conditions for welfare law development in several Asian countries. External engagement through trade policy and technical assistance can support this trajectory.