One Health for Animals: Connecting Human, Animal, and Environmental Wellbeing

The One Health approach recognises that human, animal, and environmental health are interconnected. Understanding this framework helps advocates make the case for animal welfare as a component of global health security.

Key Facts

The One Health concept is endorsed by WHO, FAO, UNEP, and WOAH as the framework for zoonotic disease prevention
Approximately 60% of known infectious diseases and 75% of emerging diseases originate in animals
Factory farming conditions are ideal for influenza evolution and transmission to humans
The estimated economic value of preventing one major pandemic through One Health approaches exceeds trillion
Animal welfare improvements -- reducing crowding, improving hygiene, preventing live wildlife markets -- directly reduce zoonotic risk
Climate change is expanding the geographic range of vector-borne diseases affecting both humans and animals
One Health investments in veterinary capacity in low-income countries prevent disease spillover at minimal cost

Welfare Considerations

One Health provides a powerful framework for connecting animal welfare to human welfare in ways that resonate with policymakers and public health audiences. The conditions that cause poor animal welfare -- overcrowding, stress, poor hygiene, compromised immune function -- are the same conditions that enable zoonotic disease emergence and spread. Advocating for animal welfare improvements using One Health framing can unlock public health funding and political attention that purely ethical arguments cannot access, while achieving genuine improvements in animal welfare as a co-benefit.

What You Can Do

Engage with One Health advocates and organisations to build coalitions around shared animal welfare and public health goals
Support funding for veterinary capacity in low and middle income countries as a disease prevention investment
Advocate for factory farming reform using the zoonotic disease prevention argument alongside animal welfare arguments
Share the One Health framework with policymakers who are receptive to human health but not yet to animal welfare arguments
Support international disease surveillance systems that monitor animal populations as early warning systems for human disease