By Ivyn Kipruto
A new report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection (CEAP) has raised alarm over a major oversight in the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the near-complete neglect of animal health and welfare. Experts warn that this gap is undermining progress on human health, environmental protection, and social equity.
Released as global leaders gather in Nairobi for the 7th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), the report, Integrating Animal Health and Welfare into the 2030 Agenda and beyond, argues that the SDG framework cannot be fully effective without systematically incorporating the wellbeing of animals.
“If we want a coherent and effective sustainable development agenda, we can no longer treat animal welfare as an afterthought,” said Cleo Verkuijl, Senior Scientist at SEI and co-lead author. “Improving the wellbeing of animals can help tackle the root causes of many global crises, from pandemics to climate change, while improving livelihoods and public health.”
This omission persists despite growing international support for the One Health approach, which recognizes the intertwined nature of human, animal, and environmental health.
The report outlines three pathways for integrating animal welfare into global governance: strengthening animal welfare considerations within current SDG implementation; introducing new targets and indicators that reflect human–animal–environment connections; and considering a dedicated SDG on animal health and welfare to elevate the issue to global priority level.
Jeff Sebo, Director of CEAP and co-lead author, stressed the urgency, “The world is not on track to meet the 2030 Agenda. As UNEA-7 brings leaders together in Nairobi, we have an opportunity to embed animal health and welfare into global policy and shape a post-2030 agenda that benefits humans, animals, and the environment.”
The report reveals that an estimated 74 percent of farmed land animals globally live in intensive factory-farming conditions, with the majority of farmed fish raised similarly. Moreover about 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases in humans are originally from animals, often linked to the ways we farm, trade, and interact with them. The authors also warn that most medically important antibiotics are fed to farmed animals, driving antimicrobial resistance making infections harder or impossible to treat. This has led to increase in spread of disease and severe illness which is now killing more people annually than HIV/AIDS or malaria.
The report further highlights that humans and farmed animals together account for 95 percent of the world’s mammal biomass, leaving only 5 percent as wild mammals.
Emerging science underscores the vital role of wildlife in maintaining healthy ecosystems; with a 2023 Nature study showing that restoring nine critical wildlife groups could deliver up to 6.4 gigatonnes of CO₂ drawdown each year. Additionally, around 75 percent of global food crops depend on pollinators, with pollination services valued at more than USD 350 billion annually.
As governance struggles to keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies, such as artificial intelligence and deep-sea exploration, the report warns that animals are increasingly exposed to risks that are not yet addressed in global frameworks.
Priority areas for action include transforming industrial agriculture and fishing systems, embedding welfare considerations into conservation and anti-trafficking policies, assessing welfare impacts in infrastructure and technology, and strengthening education and research aligned with One Health principles.
Momentum for reform is building. The UN Environment Assembly has acknowledged the role of animal welfare in sustainable development, while initiatives such as the One Health High-Level Expert Panel and the Pandemic Agreement underscore the need for coordinated global action.
A Technical Supplement accompanying the report offers detailed recommendations, including refinements to SDGs 1–17 and proposed targets and indicators for a potential SDG 18 dedicated to animal health and welfare.
The Stockholm Environment Institute is an international non-profit research institute dedicated to addressing climate, environment, and sustainable development challenges through research, partnerships, and policy engagement.
The NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection conducts research and policy analysis on environmental and animal protection, with a focus on agriculture, conservation, and emerging global challenges.