Despite apparent divisions over animal welfare, most people share common values including that animals should not suffer unnecessarily. Building welfare advocacy on shared values rather than contested ones is strategically important.
Effective welfare advocacy recognises that most people, including farmers, share core values about animal suffering. Rather than focusing on divisions about whether animals should be farmed at all, finding and building on shared commitments to minimising unnecessary suffering creates larger coalitions and more durable change. This approach produces allies rather than adversaries in farming communities.