In recent years, the importance of working holistically on the global One Health and One Welfare agendas has become evident. The success of these policies in addressing shared challenges depends on a science-based global strategy for animal welfare that allows local efforts to resolve conflicts related to how human beings take advantage of natural resources, including domestic and wild animals. These policies need to be developed jointly by the World Organisation for Animal Health, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. They should be based on scientific evidence, gathered from existing information and through transdisciplinary research, to quantify synergies and trade-offs between environmental, social, economic and animal welfare criteria. This approach will make it possible to articulate and implement local policies and solutions associating animal welfare with efficient and sustainable livestock production, biodiversity conservation and disease prevention, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, economic and rural development, biomedical research based on ethical principles, and responsible animal ownership.

Over the past few decades, the scope of animal welfare has expanded within the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). This article takes as its starting point the first issue of the Scientific and Technical Review dedicated to the subject in 1994, and compares it to the second of 2005, and to the situation today, almost 20 years later. Changes are grouped into three main areas. The first is the consolidation of animal welfare work within WOAH and the acceptance of it as a subject in its own right, linked to - but nevertheless separate from - animal health. The second is the broadening of the subject's scope from being mainly concerned with farm animal welfare to encompassing all categories of animals, domesticated and wild. The third is the increased contextualisation of animal welfare to account for different regional attitudes and needs around the globe. Changes in the scope of the subject of animal welfare within WOAH reflect the increase in research in the area and demonstrate that animal welfare is becoming integrated into other complex areas, such as sustainable development. The final part of this article looks forward, speculating on roles that WOAH might play in the future in the area of animal welfare.

African swine fever (ASF) is currently the largest threat to world pork production. The complexity of the virus, its persistence in the environment, the particular immune response it elicits without significant neutralising antibodies, its capacity for transmission by several routes and the presentation of different clinical forms, from acute with high mortality to attenuated to chronic, all pose significant challenges. This article provides an overview of the epidemiological situation of ASF across five continents, the role of wild boar in virus transmission, the development of new immunological tools that aim to enhance protection against this complicated virus in wild boar, and the protection studies that are under way.

John Brooksby was an outstanding Scottish veterinary virologist who worked at the Pirbright Institute (Pirbright) for 40 years, including 16 as the institute's director. He devised quantitative methods for measuring neutralising antibodies and perfected a complement fixation test for the diagnosis, typing and strain differentiation of foot and mouth disease (FMD), especially when combined with neutralisation. He identified four of the seven types of FMD virus (FMDV) and many subtypes. Consequently, the institute was designated the World Reference Laboratory for FMD. As director, Brooksby also oversaw advances in the pathogenesis, epidemiology and aerobiology of FMD and other diseases. His advice on the prevention and control of FMD was widely sought by international organisations and individual countries. Fred Brown was an eminent English biochemist and molecular virologist. He joined the Biochemistry Department at Pirbright in 1955, became head of the department in 1964, and in 1980 became deputy director of the institute. Advances under his leadership included the use of aziridines as inactivating agents for vaccine production, purification of FMDV suitable for biochemical analyses, demonstration of the infectivity of isolated RNA, analysis of the genomic and antigenic structure of FMDV, solving of the atomic structure of FMDV and demonstration of the potential for synthetic peptide vaccines to protect animals against virus challenge.

Recent environmental change and biodiversity loss have modified ecosystems, altering disease dynamics. For wildlife health, this trend has translated into increased potential for disease transmission and reduced capacity to overcome significant population-level impacts, which may place species at risk of extinction. Thus, current approaches to wildlife health focus not on the absence of disease but rather on the concept of health promotion. That is, wildlife populations will be more resilient to disease if they have the basic requirements for survival, as well as functioning ecosystems, within an enabling socio-economic environment. In this context, animal health programmes must adapt to design and implement wildlife health programmes that bridge knowledge gaps and fully integrate conservation goals. This article proposes new pathways and additions to the animal health management toolbox, including new approaches to surveillance and information management, partnerships and new wildlife health management practices. Solely because of risks to domesticated animals and human health, the traditional approach to disease surveillance in wild animals has now been replaced by a drive to recognise the intrinsic value of wildlife and the extended benefits of actively pursuing ecosystem health and associated life-sustaining ecosystem services. In this context, it is paramount to transition to holistic health programmes that embrace One Health as a pathway to set the health of all on equal footing.

Avian influenza is not a new disease, but the emergence of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96 lineage (Gs/GD) has necessitated fundamental changes to prevention and control strategies for this disease. No longer just an avian disease, avian influenza is capable of causing severe disease in humans and is considered a potential human pandemic threat requiring One Health approaches. In addition, Gs/GD HPAI viruses have developed the capacity to be carried across and between continents by migratory birds. Given the persistence of the current A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b viruses in wild birds, enhanced measures to prevent and control infection will be needed. In most countries, infection in poultry can be eliminated, although questions will remain about the sustainability of repeated stamping out. Systematic preventive vaccination should be seriously considered as a method for reducing the number of outbreaks. HPAI will not be eliminated from countries where Gs/GD viruses remain enzootic until major changes are made to the way that poultry are reared and sold, vaccination is improved and other factors that inhibit reporting and response are overcome. Currently, focus lies on Gs/GD HPAI, yet control of low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses also requires attention, including the development of vaccines that are appropriately matched to circulating strains of virus.

The evolution of wildlife disease management and surveillance, as documented in the World Organisation for Animal Health's Scientific and Technical Review, reflects a deepening understanding of the links between wildlife health, ecosystem integrity and human well-being. Early work, beginning with the World Assembly of Delegates in 1954, primarily focused on diseases like rabies. This focus expanded over time to include broader concerns such as the impacts of climate change, habitat loss and increased human-wildlife interactions on wildlife health. By the late 20th century, the emphasis had shifted towards improved practices for wildlife disease control and the development of advanced diagnostic methods and vaccines. Articles in the Review highlight the growing complexity of wildlife diseases and the need for holistic management strategies. The adoption in recent years of cutting-edge technologies like CRISPR-Cas systems and metagenomics points to a future of more proactive and integrated approaches to wildlife disease management. There is still a need to address not just the consequences of wildlife diseases but also their anthropogenic drivers. The latest perspectives advocate for nature-based solutions, expanded partnerships and systems-level thinking to effectively tackle 21st-century challenges in wildlife and biodiversity conservation.

Rinderpest virus and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) virus are highly pathogenic viruses causing disease primarily in cattle and small ruminants, respectively. Although the post-eradication process for rinderpest has been largely successful, gaps in preparedness for a future rinderpest reappearance remain, and the virus is still held in some facilities that have not been registered or inspected, posing a threat to the global community. The PPR Global Eradication Programme will need to overcome significant hurdles to reach a world free of the disease by 2030. Achieving this goal will be easier if plans are based on the best research and tools available, with proper involvement of communities. Focusing research and development efforts on the important remaining gaps should increase the efficiency of control and surveillance strategies, provided research outputs are effectively transferred to decision-makers. Researchers, stakeholders and implementing bodies should build on the experience of rinderpest to prepare for a post-PPR world. The animal health community should also be vigilant regarding other viruses, including those yet unknown, that could emerge as the niches of the rinderpest and PPR viruses become vacant.