Animal welfare research is systematically underfunded relative to the scale of animal suffering it addresses — with strategic funding decisions able to generate large improvements per dollar invested.
Research funding shapes which animal welfare problems get solved. Farmed fish welfare has received minimal funding relative to the 100+ billion individuals involved annually. Wild animal suffering research — despite involving potentially the largest total welfare burden — receives a tiny fraction of conservation biology funding. Strategic welfare research funding — directed at high-impact, neglected, and tractable problems — can reduce suffering for enormous numbers of animals per research dollar invested.