Fall 2023 Methods Workshop
In Fall 2023, Wild Animal Initiative hosted a five-part virtual workshop series on methods in wild animal welfare science. The program was free and covered an introduction to wild animal welfare, guidance on measuring wild animal welfare, guidance on creating and validating new measures, and a walkthrough exercise in which participants designed a wild animal welfare study. Selected talks from the workshops are shared here.
About the workshops
Workshop 1Introduction to Wild Animal Welfare
In the initial workshop, Executive Director, Cameron Meyer Shorb, introduced participants to Wild Animal Initiative’s mission and priorities, and the importance of wild animal welfare science. Professor Don Broom provided an overview of traditional animal welfare science, emphasizing values and concepts that motivate the field and how it has developed in recent years. Dr. Heather Browning described the emerging field of wild animal welfare science, emphasizing its unique values and challenges. Lastly, Dr. Miriam Zemanova highlighted the need to apply the 3Rs for any research on wild animals and provided resources for doing so.
Workshop 2How to Measure Animal Welfare
This session introduced participants to establish methods and frameworks for measuring animal welfare, as they are currently used for domesticated and captive animals. Dr. Janire Castellano Bueno provided a historical overview of animal welfare, from the Roman Era through today. Professor Saskia Arndt introduced DAWCon, the Dynamic Animal Welfare Concept, which describes welfare as the animal’s ability to cope and adapt. Dr. Gareth Arnott provided a case study of incorporating the 3Rs in the study design of his animal contest research.
Workshop 3Applying Animal Welfare to Wild Animals
The third workshop translated the concepts introduced in the second session and applied them to wild animals. Dr. Dave Daversa provided a detailed description of various physiological measures of welfare in wild animals, while Dr. Bonnie Flint presented a comprehensive overview of the various types of welfare indicators and metrics currently being used or evaluated for wild animal welfare. Dr. Andrea Harvey shared her research on assessing the welfare of wild horses.
Workshop 4How to Create and Validate New Measures
This session guided researchers in creating and validating novel ways to measure wild animal welfare. Professor Melissa Bateson described what constitutes a valid indicator and provided five methods to establish the validity of a given indicator in wild animals. Dr. Michaël Beaulieu put this process into practice. Lastly, four Wild Animal Initiative grantees whose projects include validating welfare measures presented their research.
Workshop 5Creating a Wild Animal Welfare Study
In the fifth workshop, participants split into groups based on their interests and worked through a series of prompts to develop a wild animal welfare research project.
Event leaders
Anne Clay (she/her)
Facilitator & Co-Organizer
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Anne Clay is Wild Animal Initiative’s Scientific Events & Outreach Coordinator. She received her PhD in Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University. Her doctoral research centered on the application of compassionate conservation principles to address tradeoffs in conservation and animal welfare priorities in US, French, and South Korean zoological parks. She also earned an MS and BS in Biology and Society from Arizona State University. She is located in Fairfax, Virginia.
Grey Fernández (they/them)
Host & Lead Organizer
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Grey Fernández is Wild Animal Initiative’s Services Coordinator. They completed their MA in Asian Studies at Florida International University, with a focus on Daoism and Animals, and a BA in Psychology, emphasizing coursework in behavior analysis, animal cognition, and neuropsychology. Before Wild Animal Initiative, Grey served as an academic advisor, naturalist, zookeeper, and dog trainer. Grey is based in Florida, US.
Grey is a member of Wild Animal Initiative’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee.
Janire Castellano Bueno (she/her)
Co-Organizer
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Janire Castellano Bueno is Wild Animal Initiative’s Outreach Manager. She completed her PhD in Animal Welfare and Affective Neuroscience at Newcastle University. During her doctoral research, she focused on the assessment of long-term welfare of laboratory macaques using a multidisciplinary approach. She has extensive experience in primate welfare and behavior as well as in statistical modeling. Janire is located in Newcastle (UK).
Janire is a member of Wild Animal Initiative’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee.
Acknowledgments
We would like to extend our gratitude to the following members of staff who contributed to the success of the Fall 2023 Methods Workshop: Bonnie Flint, Cameron Meyer Shorb, Cat Kerr, Emily Sharp, Jacie Woznicki, Jason Orlando, Kelly Forsythe, Luke Hecht, Mal Graham, Michaël Beaulieu, and Vittoria Elliott.
Additional information
Event Accessibility and Inclusivity Guide
Contact
Grey Fernandez, event coordinator
grey.fernandez@wildanimalinitiative.org