Veterinary Quarterly

Advancing Animal Health and Welfare: From Biology to Practice

Animal health and welfare are intrinsically interconnected, particularly in the context of complex and multifactorial conditions that compromise both physiological function and behavioral well-being across species. Diseases such as chronic infections, metabolic disorders, and lameness illustrate this relationship, while environmental and management factors, including housing, nutrition, workload, and human–animal interactions, play a critical role in shaping health outcomes in farm animals, as well as in equine and companion animal systems. Emerging evidence further highlights the importance of the microbiota in regulating immune function, metabolism, and behavior, linking internal biological processes with external conditions and welfare status.

This Article Collection brings together research addressing the interactions among biological mechanisms, microbiome dynamics, and management practices in animals. Emphasis is placed on integrative approaches to disease prevention, welfare assessment, and clinical management. By connecting mechanistic understanding with practical applications across diverse animal systems, these studies support evidence-based strategies to reduce disease burden, enhance resilience, and improve overall animal health and welfare.

Addressing animal health and welfare through an integrated lens is essential for advancing sustainable, ethical, and effective management across species, a perspective that is strongly aligned with the One Health–One Welfare framework. This concept recognizes that animal health, animal welfare, human well-being, and environmental integrity are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Complex and multifactorial conditions, often shaped by interactions among pathogens, host biology, microbiota, and management practices, illustrate how disruptions in one component can propagate across systems.

Embedding this integrative perspective into research and practice is therefore critical. It supports the development of holistic, evidence-based strategies that improve animal resilience, safeguard public health, and promote sustainable use of resources. In this context, the present collection is important because it brings together multidisciplinary insights that bridge fundamental biology, microbiome science, and applied management across animal species, contributing to a more comprehensive and actionable understanding of animal health and welfare.

This Article Collection focuses on the multifaceted interactions between animal health and welfare, with particular emphasis on complex infectious and non-infectious conditions that emerge from the interplay between biological processes and management practices. Topics of interest include the epidemiology and pathogenesis of multifactorial diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the context of health and welfare, host–microbiota interactions, and the impact of housing, nutrition, and husbandry on disease susceptibility and behavioral outcomes. Contributions addressing species across livestock, equine, and companion animal systems are welcomed, particularly where findings inform sustainable production and improved welfare standards. The Article Collection also encourages studies exploring preventive strategies, alternative approaches to antimicrobial use, and innovations in monitoring and assessment.

Submissions may include original research articles, systematic or critical narrative reviews, and short communications, provided they align with the journal’s scope and advance evidence-based understanding of how integrated health and welfare approaches can support resilient, responsible, and sustainable animal systems.

Keywords: Animal Health and Welfare, Health-welfare interactions, Multifactorial and production-related diseases, Host-microbiota interactions, Sustainable disease management and AMR reduction

Dr. Núria Mach, PhD, holds a degree in Veterinary Sciences (2003) and a European PhD in Animal Science (2008) from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, as well as a degree in Humanities Sciences (2011) from the Open University of Catalonia. She is currently Research Director at INRAE and Deputy Director of the IHAP unit (Interactions Hôtes–Agents Pathogènes) at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse (ENVT). Her research focuses on the holobiont concept, integrating host–microbiome interactions to better understand animal health, resilience, and performance. She develops multi-omics approaches to study gut microbiota dynamics and their relationships with infectious diseases and physiological functions. Her work contributes to advancing animal health, welfare, and sustainable production within a One Health framework. Here is the link to her ORCID page:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8001-6314.

Dr. Antonio Velarde, PhD, holds a Veterinarian Sciences degree (1995), Master (1998) and PhD (2000) in Animal Production, and Master (2008) in Science and Welfare of Laboratory Animals from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. From 2011 he is Diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behaviour Medicine and a member of the Animal Health and Animal Welfare Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Currently, he is head of the Animal Welfare Subprogram in IRTA (Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology, Spain). Research topics include the development of animal welfare assessment systems on farm and at slaughter, risk assessment for animal welfare, stunning prior to slaughter with gas mixtures, religious slaughter, renovation and promoting high-quality control posts during long transports, the role of cognitive bias in animal emotions, and alternatives to castration. Here is the link to his ORCID page:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2634-3138.

Disclosure statement: Both Guest Advisors declare no conflict of interest.

­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process; the Guest Advisor for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope  and author submission instructions  prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is March 31st, 2027.

Please contact Ruby Ru at [email protected]  with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

To submit your papers to this Article Collection, please:

1. Check "yes" for the question, "Are you submitting your paper for a specific special issue or article collection?"
2. Select the relevant Article Collection from the drop-down menu under the question, "Special Issue or Article Collection Name."