Consumers consider a number of factors when making purchasing decisions. Among the common drivers such as price, convenience, taste, and health, sustainability has also emerged as an important influence in society. Although sustainability is a broad term, animal welfare falls under this umbrella as an ethical consideration and viewpoint consumers reportedly care about. As a result, the assessment of animal welfare has become an essential practice driven by the increasing concerns to provide assurances that farmers are meeting industry standards for animal welfare expectations. To provide this assurance, animal welfare programs, standards, and schemes have emerged, with animal welfare audits a common component of these programs used to assess the welfare of animals. These animal welfare audits are one of the most commonly utilized mechanisms to ensure these standards are being met, as can be supported by market claims and certifications. With the evidence that attitudes impact animal welfare, this paper explores farmer attitudes and perceptions towards animal welfare audits more specifically, and the impact they have on animal welfare and animal welfare outcomes. Due to the gaps between farmer and consumer, the complexities of animal welfare audits, extraneous variables unrelated to animal welfare that influence farmer perceptions during the audit process, as well as conflicting welfare goals that may not align with farmer beliefs, it may not be possible to separate these factors from interfering with these perceptions. As a result, more research is needed in order to determine how audits and farmer attitudes and perceptions towards audits influence animal welfare.