Welfare Science

Citizen Science Animal Welfare Monitoring

Citizen science programmes engage the public in animal welfare monitoring at scales impossible for professional researchers, creating both data and welfare-engaged communities.

Key Facts

Garden BirdWatch (BTO) and similar schemes generate large-scale wildlife welfare data
iNaturalist and iRecord enable public recording of animal behaviour and welfare observations
Roadkill recording schemes quantify road mortality across broad geographies
Welfare-focused citizen science can include lameness observation training for farmers
Digital platforms have dramatically lowered barriers to citizen science participation

Welfare Considerations

Citizen science can democratise welfare monitoring, making large-scale data collection feasible while building public engagement with animal welfare concerns. Training citizens to observe and record welfare indicators - whether wildlife road casualties or farm animal behaviour - creates both data and advocates.

What You Can Do

Participate in BTO Garden BirdWatch or similar citizen science schemes
Download iNaturalist to record animal sightings and welfare concerns
Join local recording groups to monitor wildlife populations and welfare
Support citizen science platforms that include welfare monitoring components
Share your citizen science observations with relevant organisations