Neglected Farmed Species Deserve More Welfare Research

Description

Most animal welfare research centers on a few familiar farmed species: cows, chickens, pigs, and salmon. But what about other animals who are farmed by the millions around the world? This review highlights five such species — buffaloes, camels, donkeys, mules, and lumpfish — all of whom face significant welfare issues but receive little scientific attention.

The authors point out that without species-specific knowledge, it’s difficult to protect these animals effectively. They introduce two common frameworks used to assess welfare: the Five Freedoms, which focus on preventing negative states like hunger and fear, and the Five Domains, which also consider animals’ emotional experiences. Both frameworks can support better welfare — but only when adapted to each species’ natural behaviors and needs.

To show how underrepresented these animals are in research, the authors compared the number of welfare studies available for each species and their more widely studied counterparts. They focused on scientific literature published between January 2000 and December 2022. They found that, despite being essential to food systems and livelihoods in many countries, buffaloes, camels, donkeys, mules, and lumpfish appear in up to 26 times fewer publications than cows, horses, sheep, and salmon.