Animal welfare is recognized as highly relevant to success in international development. It is integral to programmes to improve animal health, to develop livestock productions, to respond to natural disasters where animals are involved, and to improve the fit between the genetic constitution of animals and the environments in which they are kept. FAO has therefore decided to give more explicit and strategic attention to animal welfare and to guide its activities, and has convened this expert meeting. The session was impressively productive and report is of an exceptionally high quality.