Animal welfare science is chronically underfunded relative to its potential impact. Understanding funding gaps and how to close them is essential for welfare advocates and scientists.
Welfare science produces the evidence base that drives both industry improvement and regulatory change. Without rigorous research on pain indicators, behavioural needs, and welfare outcomes, campaigns rely on intuition and anecdote rather than data. The funding gap is particularly acute for species outside the charismatic vertebrate mainstream — invertebrates, fish, and wild animals — and for global south farming contexts where the largest number of animals live. Strategic philanthropic investment in welfare science, including researcher training and independent institutional capacity, represents a high-leverage opportunity.