Setting research priorities in farm animal welfare requires balancing the needs of the most numerous species, the largest knowledge gaps, and the areas where research is most likely to drive practical improvement.
Setting farm animal welfare research priorities requires difficult decisions about where limited research capacity can make the greatest difference to animal lives. The most numerous farm animals - broilers, laying hens, pigs - have the deepest research bases and the greatest aggregate welfare impact per improvement. But there are also vast knowledge gaps in fish and invertebrate welfare that receive little research attention despite enormous numbers involved. Research that generates practical, adoptable management tools translates more quickly into welfare improvements than purely theoretical work. The gap between welfare science evidence and its uptake by producers remains one of the most critical barriers to real-world welfare improvement.