Welfare Science

Farm Animal Welfare Research 2027 Priorities

Identifying research priorities for farm animal welfare in 2027 helps direct scientific resources toward questions with the highest potential welfare impact.

Key Facts

Fish sentience and welfare indicators in aquaculture are a priority research gap
Broiler parent welfare and the genetics of chronic hunger require urgent investigation
Alternative stunning technologies for poultry and pigs need validation and adoption research
Wild animal interactions with farming systems including seabird bycatch need better quantification
Welfare economics research is needed to estimate cost-effective intervention returns

Welfare Considerations

Directing farm animal welfare research toward the highest-impact questions requires systematic prioritisation informed by species prevalence, suffering severity, and intervention tractability.

What You Can Do

Engage with farm animal welfare research priority-setting exercises
Support research funding bodies that prioritise welfare over production-focused questions
Follow and cite emerging welfare science to accelerate evidence uptake