Animal welfare and human health are connected through antibiotic resistance, zoonotic disease, food safety, and the psychological benefits of positive human-animal bonds.
Animal welfare and human health are not competing priorities but interconnected ones under the One Health framework. Intensive farming systems that compromise animal welfare also create conditions for zoonotic disease emergence — through crowding, stress-related immunosuppression, and high pathogen transmission rates. The antibiotic resistance crisis is in significant part a consequence of welfare-poor farming requiring mass medication. Conversely, the psychological health benefits of positive human-animal bonds — reduced stress, improved mental health outcomes, enhanced social connection — are well documented. Improving animal welfare is also, in these ways, an investment in human health.