Mission & Values
Our mission is to accelerate science that helps wild animals.
Although the vast majority of animals live in the wild, we know very little about their quality of life or how to improve it. Scientific progress is desperately needed, in order for us to understand which factors cause the most suffering for wild animals and how people can address those factors responsibly and effectively. That’s why we’re working to accelerate progress in the emerging field of wild animal welfare science.
A discipline focused on wild animal welfare will open doors to new scientific paradigms and ultimately help wild animals.
Wild animal welfare science presents exciting opportunities to explore understudied topics and pursue new angles of scientific inquiry. These new insights will also directly guide efforts to help wild animals: With an extensive body of research, scientists and wildlife managers can navigate complex issues such as balancing welfare tradeoffs between animals and preparing for downstream effects of their policies.
Right now, the knowledge gaps are too large for any one research group to fill. But we envision a robust, diverse community of scientists who will find answers to important and urgent questions about wild animal welfare. Together, we’ll make sure this burgeoning discipline flourishes well into the future.
To foster the growth of this community, we conduct scientific research, make grants, and provide support for scientists studying wild animal welfare.
Wild Animal Initiative’s three programs complement each other in this mission.
Our three programs
Research
Producing original research to guide our work and catalyze academic conversations.
Grants
Funding scientists who study high-priority questions in wild animal welfare.
Outreach
Supporting the professional needs of researchers globally.
Values
Wild Animal Initiative’s core values are social equity, organizational transparency, and scientific rigor. Learn more about what these values mean and how we apply them in our work and strategy:
Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
We oppose all systems of oppression. We build diversity, equity, and inclusion into all of our activities and operations.
Transparency
We believe organizations should openly share information about their operations and effectiveness.
Rigor
To produce valuable scientific contributions to the field, we must approach our work with the highest standards.