An overview of global progress in livestock welfare standards and the gaps that remain.
Global livestock welfare progress is real but deeply uneven. The jurisdictions with the strongest regulatory frameworks — the EU, UK, New Zealand — continue to advance standards, while production growth is concentrated in regions where welfare is minimally regulated. This creates welfare arbitrage: companies source from lower-welfare, lower-cost producers while marketing products in higher-welfare markets. International welfare standards from WOAH provide a baseline reference, but their uptake depends on national political will and enforcement capacity. The most powerful near-term mechanism for global welfare improvement may be consumer market pressure in high-income countries creating supply chain requirements that reach into lower-regulation production zones.