The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015, is the world’s most comprehensive international plan for social, economic, and environmental progress. Its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover everything from ending poverty to combating climate change. Yet despite growing recognition of the “One Health” approach — which holds that human, animal, and environmental health are deeply interconnected — neither animal health nor animal welfare is explicitly mentioned anywhere in the Agenda’s goals, targets, or indicators. The authors of this report argue that this is a significant gap.

Some goals do offer benefits to animals. SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land) address habitat protection and biodiversity conservation. But the broader framework overlooks countless farmed animals, wild animals, working animals, and companion animals whose welfare has direct implications for public health, the environment, and economic stability.

Specialists from more than 15 organizations produced this report to identify practical pathways for incorporating animal health and welfare into both current SDG implementation and any future global development framework. Their work draws on a 2024 online workshop attended by more than 30 academics and civil society representatives, along with written inputs from subject matter experts on all 17 SDGs.

The report builds its case around three core principles:

1. Animal welfare matters for its own sake. Growing scientific evidence supports the view that all vertebrates, including reptiles, amphibians, and fishes, as well as many invertebrates, can experience pain and suffering. Legal developments in countries including France, Germany, New Zealand, and the U.K. now formally recognize animal sentience.
2. Good animal health and welfare are integral to sustainable development. Industrial animal farming, for example, causes billions of animals to suffer, while generating an estimated 12% to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, driving around 80% of global deforestation, and contributing to antimicrobial resistance — which already kills more people each year than HIV/AIDS or malaria.
3. Solutions that benefit humans, animals, and the environment simultaneously are available. These include plant-rich food systems, wildlife-friendly infrastructure, and humane conservation practices.

The report proposes three complementary pathways for change. The first and most immediate is for governments and other actors to better consider animal health and welfare when implementing the existing 17 SDGs — no formal changes to the framework required. The second involves introducing new targets and indicators as part of any post-2030 agenda, such as adding measures under SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) to track zoonotic disease prevention, or including metrics under SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) to monitor the phase-out of industrial animal farming subsidies. The third, most ambitious pathway is to establish an additional, dedicated SDG on “Good Animal Health and Welfare,” elevating the issue to the same level as climate action and clean water.

For animal advocates working across different areas, the report’s systematic review of all 17 SDGs reveals relevant opportunities at every turn.

For Farmed Animal Advocates

Those focused on farmed animals will find the most extensive treatment here. Industrial animal agriculture kills approximately 80 billion land vertebrates each year, the vast majority in intensive confinement, while industrial fishing kills an estimated 1.1 to 2.2 trillion aquatic animals annually. The report identifies SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) as particularly important entry points, proposing specific new targets on sustainable food systems, antibiotic use, and just transitions away from industrial animal agriculture.

For Wild Animal Advocates

Advocates for wild animals will find meaningful material throughout. The report addresses habitat loss, wildlife trafficking, and the often-overlooked welfare costs of conservation practices themselves, including culling, lethal predator control, and militaristic anti-poaching measures. It proposes that compassionate conservation principles, which prioritize non-lethal management and the welfare of individual animals alongside species and ecosystem goals, be embedded in SDG 15 (Life on Land). A dedicated new target on compassionate conservation is proposed, along with indicators tracking countries that adopt humane wildlife management strategies.

For Companion Animal Advocates

Those working with companion animals will find connections to SDG 5 (Gender Equality), where the report documents the well-established link between intimate partner violence and animal abuse, and proposes that domestic violence support services be expanded to safely accommodate companion animals.

Urban companion animal issues are addressed under SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), including proposals to replace culling programs for free-roaming cats and dogs with trap-neuter-vaccinate-return approaches, and to integrate companion animals into disaster evacuation plans.

For Working Animal Advocates

Advocates concerned with working animals — an estimated 250 to 400 million horses, donkeys, mules, and others who provide labor and transportation in many parts of the world — will find relevant proposals under SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). The report calls for a new target to both improve conditions for working animals and support their guardians through just transitions as economies modernize.

For Research Animal Advocates

Those focused on animals in research and education will find detailed treatment under SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), where the report advocates for embedding alternatives to animal testing into regulatory frameworks and shifting research funding toward non-animal methods.

Across all 17 SDGs, the authors identify four cross-cutting sectors where reform would have the greatest impact: industrial animal farming and fishing, conservation and wildlife management, infrastructure and innovation, and research and education. They also outline four categories of policy tools to support change:

• Informational policies such as requiring honest welfare labeling
• Financial policies such as redirecting the massive subsidies currently flowing to industrial animal agriculture toward plant-based and alternative protein sectors
• Regulatory policies that establish minimum welfare standards and recognize animal sentience in law
• Just transition policies that support farmers, workers, and communities as food and other systems change

However, the authors acknowledge real obstacles. Adding a new SDG requires international consensus, and the current political climate is challenging for multilateral cooperation. The report also acknowledges that its recommendations remain largely human-centered — that is, improving animal welfare primarily in service of better outcomes for people rather than treating animals as equal beneficiaries of development in their own right. The authors flag this as a limitation worth addressing over the longer term.

For animal advocates of all kinds, this report is a valuable strategic resource. It provides a detailed, evidence-based argument for why animal welfare can’t be separated from goals that policymakers already care deeply about — public health, food security, and climate stability. The specific target and indicator proposals offer concrete hooks for policy advocacy at both national and international levels, especially as conversations about a post-2030 agenda begin to take shape. As the authors show, every single SDG touches the lives of animals in some way — and that means every SDG is an opportunity to advocate harder for them.

This summary was drafted by a large language model (LLM) and closely edited by our Research Library Manager for clarity and accuracy. As per our AI policy, Faunalytics only uses LLMs to summarize very long reports (50+ pages) that are not appropriate to assign to volunteers, as well as studies that contain graphic descriptions of animal cruelty or animal industries. We remain committed to bringing you reliable data, which is why any AI-generated work will always be reviewed by a human.