Wild animals experience enormous amounts of suffering from predation, parasitism, disease, and starvation. The growing field of wild animal welfare asks difficult questions about when and how humans should intervene.
Wild animal suffering is perhaps the most philosophically challenging area of animal welfare because it is so massive in scale and so difficult to address without risking ecological harm. The aggregate suffering of wild animals - in predation, parasite infection, starvation, and disease - almost certainly exceeds all the suffering caused by human agricultural systems, yet receives far less welfare attention. Responsible engagement with this issue requires both acknowledging its moral significance and advocating for cautious, evidence-based approaches to intervention that avoid well-intentioned harms. Building the science of wild animal welfare is itself a critical welfare contribution.