The State of Animal Welfare Portrayed on Social Media

Abstract

Animal welfare involves the practice of fulfilling an animal's physical and mental needs. In modern times, it holds a significant importance as scientific studies have improved our understanding of an animal's capacity to suffer. Therefore, it is imperative to care for animals in the most humane and respectful ways possible. However, new challenges have arisen from the digital realm of social media. On these platforms, anyone can post animal-related content, raising questions about how animals are treated and portrayed. This paper delves into the issue using a combination of literature reviews and exploratory descriptive methods. New studies related to animal welfare on social media are examined to identify the prevailing themes in how animals are portrayed. The results unfortunately show that social media is generally an unregulated medium where animal-related content is often not in accordance with animal welfare practices. Studies even suggest that incidents of social media animal cruelty are on the rise, despite regulations put in place by various social media platforms. Immediate action is needed to address deviations from animal welfare standards on social media. This responsibility falls on both the social media platform providers, their users, and the government.