Evidence-based advocacy strategies are more effective than intuition-guided approaches in creating the policy, industry and cultural changes that improve animal welfare at scale.
Animal welfare advocacy is most effective when it applies the same evidence-based thinking to strategy that welfare science applies to animal care. The effectiveness of different advocacy approaches varies enormously — corporate campaigns and ballot initiatives have stronger track records for large-scale change than individual consumer appeals. Investing in strategies with demonstrated effectiveness, rather than those that feel emotionally satisfying, is an important form of welfare commitment. The animals whose lives are affected by policy and industry decisions deserve advocates who learn from evidence and adapt accordingly.