Animal Behavior Society 2024
SymposiumExploring intersections of behavior and welfare in free-ranging wild animals
Animal behavior researchers are increasingly aware of the value and pivotal significance of considering animal welfare. Incorporating animal welfare not only leads to a better understanding of behavior but also significantly improves the quality of the science itself.
To embrace these benefits effectively, it is essential to know how to appropriately incorporate welfare into behavioral studies, and how best to design high-quality studies that use behavior to assess welfare.
This symposium aims to support the community of animal behavior scientists by providing tangible examples of how they can integrate welfare into their research and enhance their science in the process. By featuring 10 speakers who will provide concrete case studies, the symposium will help illustrate the synergies between wild animal welfare and applied behavior. Each speaker will explore important questions with distinct wild animal species, thus offering a diverse array of insights.
The primary objective is clear: to furnish the behavioral research community with tangible and applicable tools for integrating welfare into their research. Since the field of animal behavior is increasingly recognizing the importance of understanding welfare, this symposium offers a valuable and timely contribution by providing highly relevant practical examples for researchers to follow. The symposium thus serves to guide researchers to effectively intertwine welfare considerations into the fabric of behavioral studies. 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.