Animal welfare science is underfunded relative to its potential impact, and strategic investment in key research areas could generate knowledge that improves conditions for billions of animals.
The gap between what animal welfare science could achieve and what is actually funded is vast. A relatively modest increase in research investment in high-priority areas — fish welfare assessment, insect sentience, positive welfare indicators, novel alternatives to painful procedures — could generate knowledge benefiting billions of animals over the coming decades. Priority-setting in welfare research requires input from ethicists, scientists and welfare advocates to ensure resources go where they can have the greatest impact. Public funding through research councils, strategic private foundation investment, and improved translation of existing evidence into practice are all needed.