Increasing world population and demand for animal-derived protein puts pressure on animal production to
meet this demand. For this purpose animal breeding efforts were conducted to obtain the maximum yield
that the genetic makeup of the animals permits. Under the influence of economics which is the driving
force behind animal production, animal farming became more concentrated and controlled which resulted
in rearing animals under confinement. Since more attention was given on economics and yield per animal,
animal welfare and behavior were neglected. Animal welfare which can be defined as providing environmental
conditions in which animals can display all their natural behaviors in nature started gaining importance in
recent years. This does not necessarily mean that animals provided with good management practices would
have better welfare conditions as some animals may be distressed even though they are in good environmental
conditions. Consumers are willing to paymore for welfare-friendly products (e.g.: free range vs caged egg)
and this will change the animal production practices in the future. Thus animal scientists will have to adapt
themselves for the changing animal welfare rules and regulations that differ for farm animal species and
countries. In this review paper, animal welfare is discussed from an animal science standpoint