Welfare Science

Open Science and Animal Welfare Data Sharing

Open science practices including data sharing, pre-registration of studies, and open access publishing are improving the quality and accessibility of animal welfare research.

Key Facts

Animal welfare research has historically been fragmented with limited data sharing between institutions
Open access publishing reduces paywalls that restrict access to welfare science by practitioners
Pre-registration reduces publication bias that may distort the welfare evidence base
Large datasets on farm animal health and welfare are increasingly shared for collaborative analysis
EU Horizon programme supports open science practices in animal welfare research

Welfare Considerations

Open science in animal welfare research improves evidence quality, reduces duplication, and allows practitioners to access findings. Advocating for data sharing from industry, government and research institutions strengthens the evidence base for policy advocacy.

What You Can Do

Support open access publication of animal welfare research through preprint servers
Advocate for government and industry release of animal welfare data for public research
Engage with open welfare data initiatives and contribute observations where possible