Wild Animal Welfare as a Field | Animal Welfare Hub

Wild animal welfare is an emerging scientific field that extends welfare concern beyond farmed and companion animals to the billions of wild animals experiencing suffering through natural processes.

Key Facts

Wild animals experience suffering through predation, disease, starvation, weather extremes, and parasitism - processes outside human control
The number of wild animals vastly exceeds the number of farmed animals - estimates suggest 10^18 invertebrates and 10^11 wild vertebrates
Population ecology shows that most species have boom-bust demographics with high juvenile mortality, implying massive suffering at scale
Human activities that reduce wild animal suffering include habitat restoration, disease control, and reducing road mortality
The field has generated controversy about whether and how to intervene in natural suffering versus preserving wild processes

Welfare Considerations

Wild animal welfare challenges our intuitions about nature: if we care about animal suffering, consistency requires caring about suffering in natural systems, not just in contexts humans directly control. This does not necessarily imply massive interventionist programs - the feasibility and ecological implications of intervention constrain what is appropriate. But it does imply that wildlife management decisions should consider welfare alongside conservation goals, and that reducing preventable human-caused wild animal suffering is a clear obligation.

What You Can Do

Support organizations researching wild animal welfare including Wild Animal Initiative
Advocate for welfare considerations to be incorporated into wildlife management decision-making
Support habitat restoration programs that improve wild animal welfare outcomes
Reduce road traffic wildlife mortality through wildlife-friendly driving and supporting road crossing infrastructure
Engage thoughtfully with the philosophical questions wild animal welfare raises about our obligations to nature