Welfare of Animals in the Wild Animal Initiative Research Agenda

The Wild Animal Initiative is leading research into wild animal suffering as a systematic welfare problem deserving scientific attention and potential intervention.

Key Facts

Most animals in nature die young from predation, starvation, disease, or exposure — often painfully
The scale of wild animal suffering likely exceeds that of farm and research animals by orders of magnitude
Wild animal welfare research is in its early stages with few empirical studies of wild animal pain and distress
Potential interventions range from vaccine delivery to wildlife disease management to habitat improvement
The field requires careful consideration of ecological consequences of any potential welfare interventions

Welfare Considerations

Wild animal welfare as a research field represents a frontier: acknowledging that the billions of wild animals living and dying in nature have welfare interests that deserve consideration, even if intervention is limited. Most wild animals die painful deaths — from predation, starvation, parasitism, or exposure — and the scale of this suffering is enormous. The Wild Animal Initiative and associated researchers are developing the scientific foundation for understanding and eventually improving wild animal welfare in ecologically sound ways.

What You Can Do

Follow Wild Animal Initiative research and support their work through donations
Engage thoughtfully with wild animal welfare arguments rather than dismissing the field as impractical
Support habitat conservation as the most achievable large-scale wild animal welfare intervention
Share wild animal welfare research with animal welfare advocates to broaden the conversation beyond farmed and companion animals