One Health and Animal Welfare Integration

The One Health framework recognises the interconnection of human, animal and ecosystem health, creating opportunities to advance animal welfare alongside public health goals.

Key Facts

One Health is a collaborative approach recognising that human, animal and ecosystem health are interdependent
Approximately 60% of human infectious diseases originated from animals (zoonoses)
Intensive animal farming creates conditions that facilitate pathogen evolution and emergence
Antibiotic resistance in livestock directly threatens human medicine
Wildlife trade and habitat destruction drive zoonotic disease spillover
One Health frameworks increasingly appear in international policy including WHO and FAO documents

Welfare Considerations

One Health presents an important opportunity to align animal welfare improvements with public health goals. Improving farm animal welfare - through better space, enrichment and reduced stocking density - also reduces conditions that facilitate pathogen emergence and spread. Reducing antibiotic use improves animal welfare by addressing the root causes of disease rather than suppressing symptoms. Wildlife welfare and habitat protection reduce the risk of zoonotic disease spillover. One Health advocates can argue that animal welfare investment is also human health investment.

What You Can Do

Support One Health policy frameworks that incorporate animal welfare alongside human and ecosystem health
Advocate for reduced antibiotic use in livestock farming through improved welfare conditions
Support wildlife habitat protection as a zoonotic disease prevention measure
Engage with public health arguments for improving farm animal welfare conditions
Donate to organisations working at the human-animal-environment health interface