Freedom of speech and civic participation predicts national commitments towards animal protection

Beyond our moral obligation to limit animal suffering, taking steps to improve animal welfare is essential for human wellbeing. Yet, the factors driving differences in animal treatment across countries remain unclear. Here, we used indicators of national policy and legislative commitments to animal protection, including enforcement mechanisms, alongside patterns of animal-product consumption and production to represent two dimensions of national commitments to animal treatment. We then examined how social, economic, and environmental factors are associated with variation across these dimensions. While high-income countries with lower dependence on agriculture may have more opportunity to focus on animal protection, our random forests analysis suggests that the level social freedom and civic participation among citizens (as captured by the Voice and Accountability indicator) can dramatically overwhelm this economic signal. In single-predictor regression models, Voice and Accountability also explained substantially more variation in animal protection than GDP per capita, accounting for 59% of the variation compared to 44%. Irrespective of economic conditions, structures that enhance political freedoms, civil liberties, and citizen participation in governance may provide necessary foundation for advancing legislation that protects animals.