Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 January 2023
If we are to bring about improvements in animal welfare, animal welfare assessment is the first step towards sustainable improvements, followed by the identification of risk factors and subsequent interventions. Largely driven by an increased public interest, which is accompanied by political strategies such as the Community Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2006-2010 (Commission of the EC 2006), the science of animal welfare assessment has developed considerably since the 1st International Workshop on Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group level held in 1999 in Copenhagen (Sørensen & Sandøe 2001). This is reflected in major research initiatives at national and international level and in the continuously increasing number of participants at the workshops.