World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Animal Welfare
H-index 11

Animal Welfare

0962-7286

Published by: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

https://www.ufaw.org.uk/the-ufaw-journal/animal-welfare

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Animal Science and Veterinary 90 51 86 11
Ecology and Evolution 658 12 11 4

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 77
Documents by Best Scientists*: 110
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 6
SCIMAGO H-index: 82
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.453
Impact Factor: 2.3

Overview

Top Research Topics at Animal Welfare?

The journal explores disciplines such as Animal welfare, Animal-assisted therapy, Welfare, Veterinary medicine and Animal science. Issues in Animal welfare were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Zoology, Social psychology, Environmental health, Demography and Livestock. The research on Animal-assisted therapy tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Animal husbandry, Captivity and HUBzero.

Some problems in Welfare that were presented in the journal overlapped with concepts under Quality (business), Animal Welfare (journal), Public economics, Biotechnology and Agricultural science. It features Veterinary medicine research that overlaps with concepts in Lameness. Herd is a key component of Animal science research discussed in the journal.

Animal Welfare held discussions to help close the divide between two different fields of study: Pet therapy and Stunning.

  • Animal welfare (60.74%)
  • Animal-assisted therapy (32.25%)
  • Welfare (31.81%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • A scientific conception of animal welfare that reflects ethical concerns. (554 citations)
  • Can't stop, won't stop: is stereotypy a reliable animal welfare indicator? (399 citations)
  • The impact of genetic selection for increased milk yield on the welfare of dairy cows. (262 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Animal Welfare:

The most cited publications mostly deal with topics like Animal welfare, Animal-assisted therapy, Welfare, HUBzero and Veterinary medicine. The journal articles explore research in Animal-assisted therapy alongside concepts in Animal science and other areas of study in Lameness. The published papers facilitate discussions on Welfare that incorporate concepts from other fields like Animal husbandry, Animal Welfare (journal), Public economics, Perception and Environmental resource management.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Internal medicine
  • Ecology
  • Law

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The aim of Animal Welfare is to expand the discussion of research in Animal welfare, Welfare, Zoology, Public economics and Socioeconomics. The studies in Animal welfare featured incorporate elements of Agricultural economics, Environmental health, Demography, Agricultural science and Physiology. Issues in Welfare were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Veterinary medicine, Diversity (politics), Animal Welfare (journal) and Identification (biology).

It explores themes in Animal Welfare (journal) like Animal welfare science and links them with other fields of study like Network analysis. The journal explores topics in Zoology which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Femur and Chronic stress. Animal Welfare facilitates discussions on Public economics that incorporate concepts from other fields like Acinonyx jubatus, Exotic pet, Evidence-based practice and China.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Development of a list of terms in Brazilian Portuguese for the Qualitative Behaviour Assessment of broiler chickens (2 citations)
  • A survey exploring the impact of housing and husbandry on pet snake welfare (1 citations)
  • Welfare of broiler chickens reared under two different types of housing (1 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Animal Welfare (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Clive J. C. Phillips (21 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Toby G Knowles (21 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Peter Sandøe (21 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Xavier Manteca (18 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Christine J Nicol (18 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Animal Welfare (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Bristol (53 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 3 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of Edinburgh (33 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Royal Veterinary College (15 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Queensland (13 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Wageningen University and Research Centre (12 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 87.50% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 83.33% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 0.00% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 16.67% of all publications and 0.00% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Top Publications

  • Genome editing and farmed animal breeding: social and ethical issues

    (2022)
    29 Citations
  • Anticipatory behaviour in animals: A critical review.

    C Anderson;Mag von Keyserlingk;LM Lidfors;DM Weary

    (2020)
    26 Citations
  • Not all dogs are equal: perception of canine welfare varies with context

    ML Cobb;A Lill;PC Bennett

    (2020)
    25 Citations
  • Conceptualising dog owner motivations: The Pet Care Competency model and role of 'duty of care'

    CR Glanville;PH Hemsworth;GJ Coleman

    (2020)
    20 Citations
  • A critical review of animal-based welfare indicators for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in zoos: Identification and evidence of validity

    CR Skovlund;MK Kirchner;LW Moos;N Alsted

    (2021)
    19 Citations
  • Rethinking the utility of the Five Domains model

    (2023)
    17 Citations
  • Connecting farmer mental health with cow health and welfare on dairy farms using robotic milking systems

    Mtm King;RD Matson;TJ DeVries

    (2021)
    14 Citations
  • An effective environmental enrichment framework for the continual improvement of production animal welfare

    (2023)
    14 Citations
  • Assessing animal welfare impact of fourteen control and dispatch methods for house mouse (Mus musculus), Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and black rat (Rattus rattus)

    (2023)
    12 Citations
  • Trough half empty – pregnant sows are fed under half of their ad libitum intake

    Eva Read;Emma Baxter;Marianne Farish;Richard D'Eath

    (2020)
    11 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying Animal Science and Veterinary fields opens various related educational and career opportunities. For those interested in physical health and rehabilitation, pursuing a kinesiology certification online can complement your understanding of animal biomechanics and human-animal interaction.

Healthcare support roles are also closely linked to animal science careers. If you're exploring flexible entry points into clinical roles, there are many lpn schools easy to get into that provide practical training and certification, laying a foundation for more advanced medical careers involving both humans and animals.

Another important aspect is communication and therapy, especially for those veterans transitioning into civilian life. Online options like speech pathology programs online for veterans offer specialized support programs that may also intersect with animal-assisted therapy fields.

Finally, addressing mental health is crucial in veterinary settings where practitioners face high-stress environments. Enrolling in top psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner programs online provides key skills for supporting both patients and colleagues in demanding professional contexts.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal