In case you missed it: Check out our recap of the most exciting wild animal welfare research published in 2025. 🧪🐢 #animalwelfare #research #science #wildlife

Huge thanks to @wildanimalinitv.bsky.social and @leverhulme.ac.uk for funding! #animalwelfare #wildlife #animalbehaviour #conservation

New paper out in @animalecology.bsky.social: Social information about others' affective states in a human-altered world. Link: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... With @jackdawjordan.bsky.social, @margauxvanhussel.bsky.social, Mike Mendl, and @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social

Meet our new board member, Jake Wilson! Jake is an expert in nonprofit finance, and brings years of experience working to help animals. Jake is one of three new members we're welcoming to our board. We're thrilled to have his support in our mission to accelerate science that helps wild animals.

Our Strategy Researcher, @simonliedholm.bsky.social, has never shied away from exploring difficult or unusual questions. Read about his path to WAI and wild animal welfare science 👇

🦠 We know that zoonoses can cause population declines, but how do pathogens impact the welfare of wild animals? 📉 Hirst & Halsey created a severity index that can be used to better understand these impacts. 🧪 Read the open-access paper: buff.ly/yqOnslY #wildlife #animalwelfare

In a new paper in Biology Letters, WAI's @meekl.bsky.social examines the overlooked relationship between affective state and wild animals' responses to environmental change. 🧪 Read the open access paper here: buff.ly/BOG8woU @royalsocietypublishing.org #paper #research #wildlife #animalwelfare

New blog post: 2025 research highlights 🧪 Last year, wild animal welfare researchers broke new ground on: 🦠 Understanding the welfare impacts of zoonotic diseases 🔬 Measuring welfare markers in the wild 🦝 The ethics of wildlife rehabilitation Learn more:

It was wonderful to be invited to @ljmuofficial.bsky.social recently to take part in their symposium on wild #animalwelfare. 🐦‍⬛ Fantastic to hear from WAI grantees about a range of projects on wild birds, great crested newts, and leveraging new technologies to study welfare.

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with monthly highlights from Wild Animal Initiative.

2026. Considering affective state as a central component of the response of animals to environmental changes #AnimalWelfare url: royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article... via @royalsocietypublishing.org

🧪📣 New paper! How might welfare affect the way wild animals respond to changes in their environment? 🧵 1/11

Lizard morphology, urban bird cognition, AI tools for biology data analysis, and so much more — it was great to meet you at #SICB2026 and learn about your exciting work. We hope you'll stay in touch to keep up with advancements in wild animal welfare science or even contribute your own someday!

We're here at #SICB2026 and would love to meet anyone who researches the lives of wild animals, or who wants to in the future. In the conference app, open up the Community Hub section and you'll find details for our Tuesday morning meetup, hosted by Cat Kerr. Hope to see you there!

🧪 WAI grantee Paula Serres-Corral et al. developed a methodology for measuring oxytocin in feces, using #lions as a model species. Because fecal samples are collected noninvasively, fecal oxytocin could be used to assess free-ranging #animalwelfare. Read the paper👇 www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15...

As we head into the new year, we'll share updates about what we've been working on each month. Get the latest highlights by subscribing to our monthly newsletter.

Wishing you a joyful festive season! May your gingerbread cookies turn out better than ours did 🙃 ❄️ ⛄

🧪🐋 In a 2024 #paper in #Animals, Boileau et al. validated a non-invasive physical indicator of welfare in free-ranging humpback and fin #whales. www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14... 🧵 1/7

What does wild animal welfare research look like in practice? 👇

We recently shared the results of our latest staff diversity survey. Our JEDI Committee will use these results to make recommendations to our leadership team about how we can improve diversity and belonging at WAI.

🎤 WAI Science Director @lbbhecht.bsky.social took part in a panel discussion at #LSE last week that explored the #ethics of #conservation and wild animal welfare. You can watch a recording of the conversation below.

As a member of our research network, you'll be the first to hear about research opportunities and events in wild animal welfare science. Sign up to join our free research community here:

Our JEDI Committee conducts an annual survey of our staff diversity. In a new blog post, we share a summary of the most recent survey's results.

We recently shared an update on our house sparrow research project, which aims to validate house sparrow welfare indicators and explore how various environmental conditions affect their welfare. Visit our blog to get the latest on the project:

Be the first to hear about research positions, events, and career opportunities in and around wild animal welfare science — sign up to join our (free!) research community. Our listserv emails go out every other Friday.

Don't miss our latest research outputs and announcements — stay up to date with news from Wild Animal Initiative by signing up for our monthly newsletter. (We promise we won't spam you!)

In addition to awarding grants, Wild Animal Initiative produces original research in wild animal welfare science. 🧪 Learn more about our research priorities and meet our team of researchers:

🎤 WAI Science Director @lbbhecht.bsky.social took part in a panel discussion at #LSE last week that explored the #ethics of #conservation and wild animal welfare. You can watch a recording of the conversation below.

There's no one path to becoming a wild animal welfare scientist. We interviewed WAI Strategy Researcher @simonliedholm.bsky.social to learn about his.

📢❗Last call! The final day to submit an EOI for a Wild Animal Initiative #grant is this Friday, November 14. #animalwelfare #science #CFP #wildlife #research

Two years ago, we launched our first field research project: an investigation of how varying environmental conditions affect the welfare of house sparrows. We've now completed fieldwork and are preparing to review and analyze the data. Learn more:

📢❗Last call! The final day to submit an EOI for a Wild Animal Initiative #grant is this Friday, November 14. #animalwelfare #science #CFP #wildlife #research

When WAI Strategy Researcher @simonliedholm.bsky.social decided to apply his scientific background to helping wild animals, "the big question was just, ‘Is there anyone willing to pay me for doing this?’” Read about Simon's path to wild animal welfare science:

🧪 We have an open #CFP on projects in wild animal welfare science. Not sure if your project is the right fit? We've put together a guide on using common research skills to study wild animal welfare, and integrating welfare into wildlife science projects.

Watching Nightmares of Nature on Netflix is a spooky way to spend the evening, but the scariest thing about nature isn’t on TV — it’s how little we know about what life is actually like for wild animals, and how we might improve their welfare. 🎃 🐈‍⬛ 👻

In case you missed it, wild animal welfare was featured in the latest issue of The Wildlife Professional, where @dr-bff.bsky.social explored the benefits of integrating welfare into urban ecology. If you're a member, you can read it here: buff.ly/3VtLdeA

🚨Call for Grant proposals is currently open at www.wildanimalinitiative.org/grants! Deadline: 14th November #WildAnimalWelfare #Grants

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay up to date with the latest highlights from Wild Animal Initiative. #wildlife #animalwelfare #science #research

📢 #CFP: Wild Animal Initiative is accepting grant applications for projects studying wild animal welfare. 🗓️ Submit your EOI form by November 14 to be considered. 🧪 #wildlife #biology #zoology #ecoevo #animalbehavior #animalbehaviour #physiology #conservation #science

We've awarded 84 grants since we launched our Grants Program three years ago, and we're excited to share the contributions that our grantees have made to the field of wild animal welfare science so far.

Our friends at Rethink Priorities are hosting a webinar next week that may be of interest to wild insect researchers — with a discussion on the current state of knowledge about insect sentience and the possibility of insects feeling pain. 🗓️ October 20 🕐 1 pm EST Sign up: luma.com/npwnyni8

From adventures in Antarctica to adventures of the mind, WAI Research Manager Michaël Beaulieu has always been motivated by a desire to answer the most pressing questions about wild animal lives.

Wildlife contraceptives could be a humane population management tool — but they could also be used with the primary intention of improving wild animal welfare. Check out our 2024 Q&A with @simonliedholm.bsky.social to learn more: www.wildanimalinitiative.org/blog/wildlif...

By becoming a member of our free community, you'll join an international network of wild animal welfare researchers and practitioners, and hear about opportunities in the field. #ecology #ecoevo #animalbehavior #animalwelfare #conservation 🧪

🐦 Learn more about Marion's project here: www.wildanimalinitiative.org/grantees/mar...

If you're a member of @thewildlifesociety.bsky.social, check out page 49 of the latest Wildlife Professional for an article on wild animal welfare by WAI Researcher and Education Specialist @dr-bff.bsky.social 🐿️ Let us know what you think! #TheWildlifeSociety #TWS

We're excited to share an update on our grantees' research progress. Some highlights: 🧠 80 knowledge advances produced 🧪 83 indicators developed or improved 👩🏽‍🔬 583 people involved in project activities 🌍 37 workshops/webinars hosted Visit our blog to read the full progress update:

We were excited to fund this project on crayfish welfare — arthropods whose welfare has not received a great deal of attention in the scientific literature so far. Check out the initial results on Bristol Zoological Society's blog.

📢 #CFP: We are now accepting #grant applications for research projects in wild animal welfare science. To learn more about the grants we offer, what we're looking for, and how to apply, visit our grants page: www.wildanimalinitiative.org/grants Submit your EOI by November 14.

WAI grantees Jess Harvey-Carroll and Daire Carroll developed a framework applying the well-established principle of the four Rs for animal welfare in research to ensure the ethical use of animal-borne devices during post-release monitoring of rehabilitated animals. buff.ly/MYqeG5Q