Animal experiences affect the handling of animals and their disease incidence as well as the output and profitability of production. Consequently, taking animal welfare into consideration is an important part of ethically sustainable animal management. Because the reliable assessment of animal experiences requires a multidisciplinary approach, animal welfare research employs a wide range of research methods. Behaviour is often the best indicator of animal experience available to welfare research.
Research on animal welfare is coordinated through the Research Centre for Animal Welfare. Research in the field is carried out in cooperation also with several other research groups active at the Faculty.