7 minute learn
This month, we spoke with Dr. Cynthia Schuck-Paim and Dr. Wladimir J. Alonso, Co-Founders of the Welfare Footprint Institute (WFI), a non-profit analysis group devoted to creating and disseminating scientifically rigorous strategies for quantifying animal welfare.
With backgrounds in evolutionary biology, epidemiology, and animal welfare science, Cynthia and Wladimir co-founded WFI to advance the science of animal welfare and developed its central innovation—the Welfare Footprint Framework. Via analysis, coaching, and consulting, they apply this framework worldwide to offer standardized, scientifically rigorous metrics for quantifying and evaluating welfare.
On this interview, they share the imaginative and prescient behind the Welfare Footprint Institute, how their framework helps combine animal expertise into coverage, business, and advocacy, and their hopes for shaping a extra compassionate future for animals.
What’s the “Welfare Footprint Framework,” and the way does it work in observe?
The Welfare Footprint Framework (WFF) is a scientific methodology for quantifying animal welfare by way of lived experiences. It interprets proof from physiology, habits, neurology, and pharmacology into standardized measures of time animals spend in adverse (Ache) and constructive (Pleasure) affective states, at various intensities. These metrics—Cumulative Ache and Cumulative Pleasure—enable direct comparability of welfare impacts throughout species, programs, animal-sourced merchandise, practices, and interventions.
In observe, the tactic follows a clear analytical chain: description of residing circumstances → mapping of their organic penalties and respective prevalences within the goal inhabitants → stock of ensuing affective experiences → calculation of metrics of cumulative welfare impacts. This evidence-to-judgment course of makes welfare impacts auditable and comparable, enabling any stakeholder (advocates, funders, producers, policymarkers, regulators, traders) to weigh animal welfare alongside prices, productiveness, environmental and social outcomes.
How do you resolve which animal welfare reforms or species to deal with?
Our choice is guided by a mixture of:
Magnitude of potential welfare acquire: reforms that may forestall the longest time of animal ache, notably intense ache.
Determination relevance: contexts the place metrics can inform coverage, business, or advocacy decisions which might be underneath dialogue.
Feasibility of proof synthesis: species or practices the place information availability permits sturdy quantification.
Stakeholder demand: funders, advocacy teams, and business actors typically request analyses of particular reforms they want to promote, and we intention to reply to these requests once they align with our analytical requirements and potential for influence.
What are among the key findings or “massive wins” you’ve had up to now?
- Quantification of fish ache throughout slaughter. We estimated that rainbow trout expertise a mean of as much as 22 minutes of intense ache throughout air asphyxia, with efficient beautiful doubtlessly averting 1-20 hours of average to excessive ache per greenback spent in capital prices. This analysis reached over 100 media retailers and an estimated 200-300 million folks globally, indicating that these concrete welfare metrics generate way more public engagement and media traction than summary welfare claims.
- Proof that greater welfare programs will not be prohibitively costly. Our Nature Meals examine confirmed that switching to slower-growing broiler breeds might forestall 15-100 hours of intense ache per hen whereas including solely about $1/kg of meat. When environmental prices are monetized, the welfare positive factors value mere ten-thousandths of a greenback per hour of ache prevented–successfully debunking claims that welfare enhancements are too pricey or environmentally damaging.
- Discovering that barren environments amplify ache depth and delay therapeutic. Our analysis on “The Ache Echo Chamber” with main ache researchers exhibits that ache is perceived as extra intense and takes longer to heal within the barren, intensive environments typical of recent animal agriculture–that means welfare issues in these programs are worse than beforehand understood. A evaluation demonstrating these results is anticipated for 2026.
- Discovery that early-life situations form lifelong welfare in salmon. Our work on Atlantic salmon in RAS hatcheries revealed that early-life situations completely form welfare outcomes later in life. The work recognized three precedence interventions for the hatchery section, with numerous organizations and certifiers with plans to include these suggestions into future welfare requirements. The work must be printed quickly.
- Improvement of the primary complete Welfare Footprint of a product. The Welfare Footprint of the Egg (publishing 2026) quantifies 125 completely different affective experiences throughout all egg manufacturing programs and assesses the influence of a number of interventions and reforms. This work, co-authored by over 60 teachers, gives the primary full welfare evaluation of a complete manufacturing chain.
- Widespread adoption of the framework. Over 50 organizations are actually utilizing the Welfare Footprint Framework and our estimates for intervention prioritization, with numerous teams integrating it immediately into their cost-effectiveness fashions.
- First main business partnership. A main South American meat producer adopted the framework throughout its whole beef provide chain (~1,200 producers), utilizing it to establish cost-effective welfare enhancements like shade provision to cut back warmth stress, phasing out of practices equivalent to dehorning, and enhancements by way of transport length, provision of enrichment, amongst others.
- Integration into authorities decision-making. Some working teams are incorporating our estimates into welfare valuation fashions, and a few nationwide companies are utilizing the framework for animal cruelty litigation.
What are the most important challenges you face in quantifying animal welfare, and the way are you addressing them?
Subjectivity of affective states: We mitigate this by grounding estimates in specific, multi-disciplinary proof, by utilizing clear notation programs (Ache-Monitor, Pleasure-Monitor) and by incorporating uncertainty and variability in all estimates.
Interspecific variations: we’re at present creating a framework for integrating variations in hedonic capability throughout species, in addition to for measuring variations within the distribution of struggling throughout populations.
Scaling adoption: We’re restricted by way of what number of species, programs, and practices we are able to analyze immediately with our analysis capability. To handle this, we’ll proceed coaching teachers, advocates, policymakers and different stakeholders within the technique, enhance present AI instruments and develop new ones that may facilitate the analytical course of, in addition to launch new applications (e.g., an elite certification program to intensively prepare people on the WFF) to develop our analysis capability.
Trying forward, what’s on the horizon that excites you most about your work?
Trying forward, what excites us most is the potential of serving to remodel how society addresses animal welfare. That is an formidable objective, however we imagine that while you measure animal welfare in concrete and relatable phrases–for example, hours of intense ache slightly than summary issues–folks reply. Media retailers disseminate the findings. Customers perceive the impacts. Policymakers can justify laws. Courts settle for rigorous proof. Retailers can set procurement requirements. Funders can optimize their influence. Firms can differentiate real enhancements. Advocates strengthen their campaigns with plain information. We’re simply getting began and we’re seeing constructive impacts we had not anticipated. our roadmap for change and future plans, right here’s what excites me most:
Reaching a tipping level for systemic change: we imagine that when we now have full Welfare Footprints for core animal merchandise (e.g., eggs, rooster, pork, fish, beef, dairy) the estimates can grow to be transformative.
The patron app going reside: we’re creating a cell app to let consumers scan merchandise and immediately see their welfare impacts. Think about thousands and thousands of shoppers abruptly capable of see that one product causes 50 hours of intense ache whereas one other causes 5.
Serving to finish the period of deceptive welfare claims: with quantified welfare metrics, “humane-washed” merchandise shall be uncovered. With welfare impacts quantified, the market can reward real enhancements slightly than advertising
AI acceleration of our work: our Ache Atlas venture utilizing AI to map and quantify 1000’s of welfare challenges might cut back evaluation time by 50%. This implies we are able to develop protection exponentially – from tons of to doubtlessly 1000’s of welfare assessments per yr.
Business transformation: with a significant meat producer already utilizing our framework and a certifier doubtlessly incorporating our suggestions, we’re seeing early indicators that welfare quantification can grow to be commonplace observe.
An Elite Certification Program creating impartial capability: coaching specialists who can conduct assessments independently means our influence can multiply past our group’s capability.
Most basically, we’re enthusiastic about making animal experiences plain—reworking welfare from a subjective concern into goal, measurable actuality that calls for motion.
In the event you needed to share a ultimate message with the ACE viewers, what would it not be?
Animal welfare is usually sidelined as a result of it appears “immeasurable.” By expressing it as time in Ache and Pleasure, backed by plain scientific proof, we make animal expertise scientifically quantifiable, immediately comparable, and decision-relevant. This turns ethical concern into operational information that may shift coverage, markets, and shopper habits towards lowering animal struggling at scale.
Animal Charity Evaluators awarded the Welfare Footprint Institute a $50,000 Motion Grant to help their venture Bettering Farmed Fish Welfare at Slaughter by Reforming Pre-Slaughter Operations. This analysis will assist inform laws, advocacy, and business practices to drive simpler welfare interventions. To be taught extra concerning the Welfare Footprint Institute and the way they’re making important change for animals, go to their web site.
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