The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program is thrilled to be hosting our annual Wild Animal Welfare Summit! Two and a half days of talks, discussions, and networking among researchers, advocates, and policymakers about how to improve wild animal welfare at scale :)

“‘We mostly think of nature as biodiversity, a concept, but this made it so personal, so emotional and so horrific.’” Fascinating study that asked volunteers to imagine — first-hand — what it might be like to live as a wild animal.

At @scifaw.bsky.social ? Don't miss @janirecas.bsky.social's talk at 10:30 this morning — Associations between judgement bias and other indicators of affective state: a way to advance wild animal welfare science? #SciFAW100

#SciFAW100! Be sure to check out our poster on wild animal welfare science as you peruse posters and sip drinks this evening — @meekl.bsky.social and @janirecas.bsky.social will be around to chat. 🍸️ 📈 @scifaw.bsky.social

We're at @scifaw.bsky.social in London this week! Stay tuned for highlights from the conference. And if you're here, come say hi! And don't miss our talk — Weds @ 10:30 🗓️ ⏰️ @janirecas.bsky.social @shannonwrites.bsky.social @meekl.bsky.social #SciFAW100

We're at @scifaw.bsky.social in London this week! Stay tuned for highlights from the conference. And if you're here, come say hi! And don't miss our talk — Weds @ 10:30 🗓️ ⏰️ @janirecas.bsky.social @shannonwrites.bsky.social @meekl.bsky.social #SciFAW100

Looking for a new book? 📚️ Out this month, the Elephant Jungle explores the realities of advocating for wild animals in a place where poverty and human rights abuses are prevalent.

ICYMI: The latest paper by our research team looks at the representation and contribution of veterinarians to wildlife research. The takeaway? Vets have huge potential to contribute to research on wild animal welfare.

Injuries and deformities likely correlate with reductions in welfare in wild fish, but we know surprisingly little about how many fish experience them. New research by @simonliedholm.bsky.social takes a first look at the problem.

Biological invasions can be severely damaging to biodiversity — but how do they affect animal welfare? Thomas Evans on the findings of his WAI-funded research and the novel assessment framework he developed 👇️

Our 2025 annual report is a collection of our favorite stories from last year and the progress they reflect in the field of wild animal welfare science. 👉️ buff.ly/WA8QUPy We're excited to share what comes next!

🧪📣 New paper! How involved are veterinarians in wildlife research? buff.ly/eMYqqMe

The animal welfare impacts of #biologicalinvasions is a neglected research topic. Here the authors developed a framework to assess their severity and type, and apply it to bird and ant #invasions, finding ants to cause widespread suffering of animals. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🔍 NEW ARTICLE: Welfare implications of injuries and deformities in wild fish Author: Simon Eckerström Liedholm Read the full article: https://ow.ly/qxNx50YOlzh #AnimalWelfare #FishWelfare

Just a little buzz of warm weather energy 🌼 This ruby-throated hummingbird was photographed by our Visual Communications Specialist (and resident bird enthusiast), @jaciewoz.bsky.social, in her New Jersey backyard.

Today is World Otter Day! 🦦 Otters are not just cute, but they are also the perfect animal to study. They have relatively small linear territories which they mark with spraint (poo). Researchers are looking at stress levels in otters and how they vary with population density 1/3 @biology.ox.ac.uk

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Not a member of our online research community yet? Join now to get access to our listserv emails — twice a month, we'll share career and funding opportunities in wild animal welfare science.

One week left to submit your abstract for this year's #redCIBA conference! We'll be co-organizing a session on wild animal welfare — if you're conducting research in the field, we'd love to feature your work. Send abstracts to: [email protected] redciba.org

With funding from Wild Animal Initiative, @viveknityananda.bsky.social and Sarah Scott are developing a judgment bias test for bumblebees that can be performed in the wild. Learn more 👇️

ICYMI: New paper by @simonliedholm.bsky.social on the welfare implications of injuries and deformities in wild fish. 🧪 @animal-welfare.bsky.social

Validating indicators of wild animal welfare is one of our priority research areas. Here's what we know so far about how we can assess welfare in free-ranging animals — and what we still need to do. 🧪🐀

Conducting research on wild animal welfare? We'd love to hear about your work at the #redCIBA conference this September in Zaragoza, Spain. Abstract submissions are due by May 25. Send abstracts to: [email protected] redciba.org

Come work with us! Wide range of topics: #insect #emotions, #mantis stereo #vision and prey detection, insect active vision, cognition across species in the wild, bee reward perception, insect #attention. If any of that appeals, get in touch! #fellowships #postdoc (p.s. It's beautiful up North!)

Thanks to @wildanimals.bsky.social for the funding and this beautiful coverage of our work. Very exciting to be taking these ideas out into the field. Sarah has been absolutely brilliant and the results are coming in- watch this space for more!

With funding from Wild Animal Initiative, @viveknityananda.bsky.social and Sarah Scott are conducting the first study of the affective states of wild bumblebees. Learn more 👇️

Sitting at the intersection of ecology and wildlife management, urban coyote research is a productive place for wild animal welfare theory and intervention to meet.

We'll be at the #redCIBA conference in Zaragoza, Spain on September 23–25 this year, where we'll be co-organizing a session on wild animal welfare. Abstract submissions are now open — submit yours by May 25! Send abstracts to: [email protected] redciba.org

Our free online research community is home to 600+ wild animal welfare researchers and practitioners. Join today to connect with other scientists around the world interested in understanding and improving the lives of animals in the wild.

🧪📣 New paper! 🧵 @simonliedholm.bsky.social conducted a targeted review of the prevalence of injuries and deformities in wild fish — potentially useful indicators of welfare.

We'll be at the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control's conference in Barcelona this week, where @simonliedholm.bsky.social will be presenting a poster on whether controlling screwworm fertility benefits wild animal welfare. If you're attending, come say hi and check out our poster! 🪰

Leaving work at 4:59 pm on a Friday like 🏃‍♀️💨 This nine-banded armadillo was photographed by our Researcher @dr-bff.bsky.social near her home in Houston, Texas. Enjoy the weekend!

This spring, coyotes may be having litters of pups in your city. We took a look at the welfare threats coyotes might face in cities, and how researchers can help.

Get our monthly highlights to stay up to date on research and developments in wild animal welfare science.

With funding from WAI, Maristela Martins de Camargo of @uspoficial.bsky.social is developing a non-invasive saliva sample collector that can be used to study a range of species in the wild. Learn more 👇️

Interventions in nature can have unintended effects. Here are three approaches to managing wildlife for welfare that can help us ensure that interventions are net positive for all animals in an ecosystem. 🧪 #wildlife #welfare #environment

Only one more day to register for the Botstiber Institute for Wildlife Fertility Control's upcoming conference! 🗓️ April 23–24 📍 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain 🔗 Registration: buff.ly/ZIMzhtm We're excited to be co-sponsoring this conference — we'll see you there!

Had a fantastic time at the in-person @wildanimals.bsky.social judgement bias meet-up in Bristol yesterday. It was so interesting to hear how everyone's work is progressing, and just look at that weather! ☀️

We're excited to be co-sponsoring the 10th International Conference on Wildlife Fertility Control in Barcelona next month. Register by April 1 to attend! 🗓️ April 23–24 📍 Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona 🔗 Register here:

Join WAI Strategy Researcher @simonliedholm.bsky.social for a discussion of emerging findings in wild animal welfare science and their implications for wildlife management. 🗓️ Tuesday, March 31 ⏰️ 10 am PT/1 pm ET/6 pm BST 🔗 Register here: buff.ly/khTq6bK

Our free online research community is an international network of 500+ wild animal welfare researchers and practitioners. Join to get our listserv emails with research, funding, and career opportunities.

Stay up to date with the latest developments in wild animal welfare science by subscribing to our newsletter.

Here's an easy-to-read blog post about the songbird trap that @verntasco.bsky.social and I designed (in case you don't want to read the journal article!).

Wildlife management aimed at maximizing the welfare of individual animals is a novel idea. How can we ensure it doesn't go wrong? 🧪 #wildlife #animalwelfare #environment

How cost-effective are interventions to improve wild animal welfare? A government program to vaccinate raccoons against rabies offers a glimpse at what’s possible. 🦝

WAI Researcher and Education Specialist @dr-bff.bsky.social's background in biology, ecology, and conservation equipped her with the skills and knowledge she needed to study wild animal welfare. Bonnie shares the story behind her career path in our new blog post.

In a new blog post, we share the strategy behind our decision to join the BAHSCR's Roundtable on Science and Welfare of Animals Involved in Research.

Remotely closing trap for targeted songbird capture 🪶🧪 @dr-bff.bsky.social shares how she developed this bycatch-eliminating trap on @fieldornith.bsky.social's blog. Learn more about the House Sparrow project that Bonnie designed this trap for: www.wildanimalinitiative.org/blog/house-s...

Watching banded mongooses suffer from tuberculosis was a turning point for @dr-bff.bsky.social. Now, wild animal welfare research has led her to a whole field of questions that ecology isn't asking.

🗓️ One week left to apply to be our Services Coordinator! If you're a lab manager, academic program or event coordinator, or early-career researcher passionate about building active and inclusive research communities, we'd love to hear from you.