Meet our grantees

Wild Animal Initiative funds academic research on high-priority questions in wild animal welfare.

The goal of our grants program is to fund research that deepens scientific knowledge of the welfare of wild animals in order to better understand how to improve the welfare of as many wild animals as possible, regardless of what causes the threats to their well-being.

We showcase our grantees and their projects here and continuously update this page as new projects are added.

Challenge, Australia, N/A: Multiple focal species, Mammals, Climate science, Physiology, Animal behavior, Mammalogy, 2026, Not published Wild Animal Initiative Challenge, Australia, N/A: Multiple focal species, Mammals, Climate science, Physiology, Animal behavior, Mammalogy, 2026, Not published Wild Animal Initiative

Towards welfare-centered prescribed fire

Grantee: Dale Nimmo

Institution: Charles Sturt University, Australia

Project summary

This project will investigate how prescribed burning affects wild animal welfare, and whether welfare state helps determine survival and harm suffered. The team will study bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) in forest blocks scheduled for prescribed burns and in control sites, combining behavioral, body-condition, injury, and non-invasive physiological measures to infer welfare changes. Lightweight telemetry will enable tracking of survival and severe harm, while fire-severity mapping, refuge measurements, and camera traps will help identify the mechanisms involved. The goal is to generate evidence to help burns be planned and implemented in ways that reduce avoidable suffering.

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Discovery, Australia, Fish, Endangered, Physiology, Animal behavior, Ichthyology, Cognition, 2025, Not published Wild Animal Initiative Discovery, Australia, Fish, Endangered, Physiology, Animal behavior, Ichthyology, Cognition, 2025, Not published Wild Animal Initiative

Effect of an invasive competitor on the welfare of a threatened fish in a soft-release program

Grantee: Rafael Freire

Institutions: Charles Sturt University

Project summary

Invasive fish are common in most freshwater systems, yet their impact on the welfare of resident fish is often ignored. Invasive fish species compete and displace small-bodied native fish in several ways, including by preventing access to refuge sites, preferred foods, breeding grounds, and other important resources. This project will assess the welfare of native fish placed in sites with and without invasive competitors. Welfare will be measured using a novel population-level judgement bias test, differences in telomere attrition, and typical physical correlates of welfare in fish. In addition to revealing the impact of invasive fish on small-bodied fish welfare, this work will also promote greater consideration of the impact of animal translocation and release activities on wild animal welfare.

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Critically endangered, Challenge, Animal behavior, Sentience, Ichthyology, Australia, Fish, 2022, Published Wild Animal Initiative Critically endangered, Challenge, Animal behavior, Sentience, Ichthyology, Australia, Fish, 2022, Published Wild Animal Initiative

The impact of anthropogenic stressors on the affective state of juvenile Murray cod

Grantee: Rafael Freire

Institution: Charles Sturt University

Project summary

Many freshwater fish populations have severely declined as a result of human-caused changes in their environment. Population decline often results from an increased mortality rate experienced on the individual level, with likely implications for the welfare of individuals living through a period of population decline. This study will examine how differences in water quality and the presence of potential predators affect a behavioral indicator of welfare — judgment bias — in juvenile Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii). In the future, data about how juvenile fish respond to these factors could guide interventions for helping juvenile fish survive to adulthood in the wild.

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