The 21st century has seen extraordinary progress in animal welfare science, law, and public awareness. Understanding where we have made genuine advances and where the most significant challenges remain helps focus effort on what matters most.
Animal welfare advocacy has made genuine and significant progress in the 21st century. Legal recognition of animal sentience, expansion of welfare protection to previously excluded species, growth in plant-based and alternative protein markets, and the development of a professional, evidence-based welfare advocacy sector represent real improvements in the conditions and consideration given to animals. At the same time, the scale of ongoing suffering — tens of billions of farmed animals in inadequate conditions, hundreds of millions of wild animals lost to habitat destruction, billions of fish killed without welfare consideration — remains a moral challenge of enormous proportions. The path forward requires continuing all that works — science, advocacy, consumer choice, policy engagement — while remaining honest about the gap between what has been achieved and what is needed.