Welfare Science

Zoonotic Disease Prevention and Animal Welfare

Many zoonotic disease emergence events are linked to poor animal welfare conditions, creating a clear One Health imperative to improve welfare as a disease prevention strategy.

Key Facts

75% of new infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin
Factory farming conditions facilitate disease emergence and spread
Antibiotic-resistant pathogens from livestock pose growing human health risks
Wild animal capture and trade create pathogen transmission pathways
Improving animal welfare conditions reduces disease emergence risk

Welfare Considerations

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the deep connection between animal welfare and human health. Conditions that create suffering for animals - crowding, stress, antibiotic overuse - also create optimal conditions for pathogen emergence and evolution. Animal welfare improvement is therefore a One Health imperative.

What You Can Do

Support One Health frameworks that integrate animal welfare and human health
Reduce consumption of intensively farmed animal products
Advocate for improved animal welfare standards as disease prevention policy
Support research into the relationship between farming conditions and disease emergence
Engage with public health organisations about animal welfare as a health priority