Welfare economics - applying economic analysis to animal welfare - is creating new tools for prioritising interventions, valuing welfare, and making the case for investment in animal welfare improvement.
Welfare economics offers tools for making the case for animal welfare investment in terms that resonate with policymakers and industry beyond ethical argument alone. When welfare improvements also prevent economic losses (lameness costs, disease mortality), the business case is clear. When they do not pay for themselves economically, ethical arguments and consumer willingness-to-pay remain the justification. The development of welfare valuation frameworks - equivalent to environmental economics' natural capital accounting - could transform how animal welfare is integrated into economic decision-making.