Animal welfare legislation has expanded significantly in recent decades, with growing international momentum toward legally enforceable protection for farmed, companion, and wild animals.
Legal frameworks provide the foundation for systemic welfare improvement. Progress has accelerated driven by public concern, scientific advances in sentience research, and civil society advocacy. Gaps remain significant — farmed animals during production are excluded from protection in the US; invertebrates are inadequately covered globally; enforcement varies enormously between jurisdictions. The inclusion of sentience-based frameworks that acknowledge emotional states, not just physical harm, represents a meaningful conceptual advance with the potential to transform welfare standards.