Most pandemic pathogens originate in animals. Improving animal welfare in farming, wildlife trade, and wet markets is a high-leverage pandemic prevention strategy.
Pandemic preparedness and animal welfare reform are deeply aligned interests that rarely collaborate explicitly. The conditions that cause animal suffering in intensive farming — overcrowding, stress, immunosuppression, and genetic uniformity — are also the conditions that enable pathogen evolution and transmission. Improving welfare through reduced stocking density, species-appropriate housing, and reduced antibiotic dependence makes farming systems more resilient against novel pathogens. The economic case for pandemic prevention through welfare reform is compelling: the COVID-19 pandemic cost the global economy an estimated USD 28 trillion in lost output.