Towards welfare-centered prescribed fire
Grantee: Dale Nimmo
Institution: Charles Sturt University, Australia
Grant amount: $98,700
Grant type: Challenge grants
Focal species: Bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) and others
Conservation status: N/A: Multiple focal species
Disciplines: Climate science, physiology, animal behavior, mammalogy
Research location: Australia
Project summary
This project will investigate how prescribed burning affects the welfare of wild animals, and whether an animal’s welfare state before exposure to fire helps determine survival and harm suffered. The research team will study bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) in forest blocks scheduled for prescribed burns and in control sites, sampling individuals before fire, shortly after fire, and during early recovery, combining behavioral, body-condition, injury, and non-invasive physiological measures to infer changes in affective state and welfare. Lightweight telemetry will enable tracking of survival and severe harm through the burn window and post-fire period, while fire-severity mapping, refuge measurements, and camera traps will help identify the mechanisms involved. The goal is to generate practical evidence for welfare-centered prescribed fire: burns planned and implemented in ways that retain refuges, maintain escape options, and reduce avoidable suffering.
Why we funded this project
By combining welfare indicators with telemetry, fire-exposure metrics, refuge measurements, and predator activity, the project helps move wild animal welfare beyond descriptive assessment toward identifying the mechanisms and management choices that could reduce suffering.