Human-animal bonds provide significant mental health benefits. The welfare of companion animals and access to animal-assisted therapy are bidirectional welfare concerns.
The human-animal welfare relationship is genuinely bidirectional. Human mental health benefits from companion animals are real and significant - but they depend on the animal itself experiencing good welfare. Stressed, fearful, or poorly cared-for animals do not provide the same mental health benefits and cannot be instrumentalized without welfare cost. Human and animal welfare are interdependent rather than competing.