Thank you for this deeply analytical and constructive post. It highlights a vital epistemic challenge in the animal welfare space: the tension between the urge to scale intuitive solutions and the reality of thin, sometimes conflicting data. The risk of unintended direct harm (such as increased mortality or distress in poorly managed cage-free or stunning transitions) underscores why a rigorous R&D infrastructure is so necessary. Shifting funding priorities toward mapping the entire evidence pipeline feels like a high-leverage way to ensure our interventions match our intentions. I’d love to see more organizations focus heavily on action-relevant primary research before we push for global implementation.
Dr. Phalox comments on animal welfare has an evidence problem