Economic analysis of animal welfare interventions is essential for prioritizing action. Understanding how to measure and compare welfare impacts helps direct resources to where they can do the most good.
The economic analysis of animal welfare suffers from the absence of agreed metrics for comparing welfare impacts across species, intervention types and time horizons. Without agreed welfare metrics, comparisons between interventions - should we prioritize laying hen welfare or shrimp welfare - rest on philosophical assumptions about which experiences matter and how much. Despite this methodological challenge, rigorous analysis of the cost-effectiveness of different interventions has produced actionable insights. Corporate campaigns affecting millions of animals can be more cost-effective than direct rescue interventions affecting dozens. Geographic and species priorities can be identified through systematic analysis. The application of economic rigor to animal welfare allocation has the potential to dramatically increase the welfare impact of available advocacy and charitable resources.