Animal welfare assessment uses diverse tools across species - standardising approaches while respecting species differences is a key challenge for welfare science.
Welfare assessment standardisation matters because inconsistent measurement makes comparison, benchmarking, and improvement impossible. If farms in different countries use different metrics, supply chain welfare assurance becomes meaningless. Research to develop standardised, species-specific, validated welfare indicators is a high-priority need. The Five Domains framework provides a common theoretical foundation while allowing species-specific indicator development. Progress is being made but significant gaps remain particularly for aquatic species, invertebrates, and wild animals.