Many infectious diseases affecting humans originate in animals, and improving animal welfare - particularly in intensive farming and wildlife trade - is central to preventing future pandemics.
The link between animal welfare and pandemic prevention is direct. Intensive farming conditions that compromise animal welfare - overcrowding, stress, immune suppression - also create optimal conditions for pathogen amplification and mutation. Improving welfare through reduced stocking density, better enrichment, and lower antibiotic use simultaneously reduces pandemic risk. The wildlife trade subjects animals to extreme welfare stress while creating disease spillover opportunities at the human-wildlife interface. Addressing animal welfare is therefore not merely an ethical concern but a critical component of global health security strategy.