Welfare Science

Animal Welfare and Effective Altruism Strategy

How effective altruism principles can guide strategic animal welfare advocacy and prioritisation of interventions.

Key Facts

Effective altruism prioritises interventions that help the most animals per dollar
Scale, neglectedness, and tractability are core criteria for animal welfare prioritisation
Farmed animal welfare receives relatively little funding given the scale of suffering
Corporate welfare campaigns have high estimated cost-effectiveness per animal helped
Cause prioritisation within animal welfare is an active area of strategic debate

Welfare Considerations

Applying effective altruism principles to animal welfare enables resources to be directed to the highest-impact interventions, multiplying the welfare improvement achieved.

What You Can Do

Engage with Animal Charity Evaluators research on effective animal welfare interventions
Consider donating a portion of charitable giving to ACE recommended charities
Learn about cause prioritisation in animal welfare through 80,000 Hours resources