Events
Check our events list for details on where in the world you can find us next.
At our workshops, talks, seminars, symposia, and other events, we'll introduce you to wild animal welfare science and equip you with the tools you need to study wild animal welfare. Our events also serve as platforms for other wild animal welfare researchers to showcase their work. We host events online and at conferences worldwide.
Upcoming Events
We currently don't have any events scheduled for the upcoming months. Please check back soon for updates on our latest happenings and exciting events.
Past Events
Wild Animal Initiative, Royal Veterinary College, and the Institute of Zoology
Online and London, United Kingdom | November 20, 2024
hybrid seminar seriesWild Animal Lives Through a Welfare Lens
This in-person and online Seminar Series on Wild Animal Lives Through a Welfare Lens is delivered in partnership with the Royal Veterinary College and the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London) as part of the MSc Wild Animal Biology.
Full details on this session are coming soon.
Animal Behaviour Live
Online | November 5, 2024
Virtual workshopFrom Evaluation to Legislation: Why Animal Welfare is Central
The workshop focuses on animal welfare science, addressing its assessment and legislative possibilities. Dr. Heather Browning examines various welfare frameworks, discussing their applications and limitations, while Dr. Janire Castellano Bueno highlights Wild Animal Initiative’s efforts to improve wild animal welfare. The session concludes with a discussion on welfare frameworks, indicators, and key challenges in the field, including the need for collaborative work, ethical considerations and methodological constraints.
International Society for Behavioral Ecology Congress 2024
Melbourne, Australia | October 2, 2024
interactive WorkshopWild Animal Welfare Methods
This workshop will explore the significance of Wild Animal Welfare Science (WAWS) for behavioral ecologists, highlighting its potential to deepen understanding of animal behavior and enhance research quality. Led by pioneering researchers in the field, attendees will explore challenges, methodologies, and case studies, participating in discussions about integrating WAWS into various research contexts. Participants will learn how to apply relevant methods and incorporate WAWS into their work.
International Society for Applied Ethology 2024
Curitiba, Brazil | July 22 - 26, 2024
interactive WorkshopIntegrating Wild Animal Welfare Science into Ethology
This workshop focuses on integrating welfare into wild animal research. Participants will discuss challenges, barriers, and the importance of welfare in wild animal behavior studies through interactive sessions, a brief introduction to welfare principles, group discussions on welfare assessment, and case studies on current research. The aim is to improve research methods and promote an ethical understanding of wild animal behavior.
Animal Behavior Society 2024
London, Ontario, Canada | Wednesday, June 26, 2024
SymposiumExploring intersections of behavior and welfare in free-ranging wild animals
Animal behavior researchers are increasingly aware that considering animal welfare in their work leads to a better understanding of behavior and significantly improves the quality of the science. To embrace these benefits effectively, it is essential to know how to appropriately incorporate welfare into behavioral studies and how to design high quality studies that use behavior to assess welfare.
This symposium will provide tangible examples of how animal behavior scientists can integrate welfare into their research, and equip researchers with applicable tools for doing so. By featuring 10 speakers who will share concrete case studies, the symposium will illustrate the synergies between wild animal welfare and applied behavior. Each speaker will explore important questions with distinct wild animal species, offering a diverse array of insights. Attendees can anticipate an informative discussion and real-world examples that can empower them to navigate the transformative intersection of these fields with precision and clarity.
Measuring Behavior 2024
Aberdeen, Scotland | Thursday, May 16, 2024
interactive workshopMeasuring Wild Animal Welfare
This workshop explores the connection between the welfare of wild animals and their behavior. We discuss how methods for measuring behavior can be used to better understand welfare and how considering welfare provides insight to behavior. We emphasize the importance of considering both behaviour and welfare in the scientific method. We provide examples from various species in both controlled and wild settings.
Wild Animal Initiative
Online | October 30 - December 4, 2023
virtual workshop seriesMethods in wild animal welfare science
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.