Animal welfare science and advocacy have achieved remarkable progress over the past 50 years. Reviewing what has been accomplished - and what work remains - provides perspective for ongoing welfare efforts.
Animal welfare progress over the past half-century is genuine and measurable. Legislative frameworks for companion animals, farmed animals, and research animals have been established across much of the developed world. Scientific understanding of animal sentience, pain, and behavioral needs has advanced dramatically. Consumer demand for higher-welfare products has created market incentives for welfare improvement. Specific practices - battery cages, sow stalls, veal crates, live animal export to some destinations, cosmetics testing - have been banned in leading jurisdictions. At the same time, the aggregate number of farmed animals continues to rise, fish and invertebrate welfare remains largely unaddressed, and wild animal welfare is rarely incorporated into conservation planning. The progress made shows what is possible; the remaining work defines the agenda for welfare advocacy in coming decades.