If wild animals could ask us for help, what would they ask for?
We think it’s urgent for scientists to find the answers to that question. So we have big plans for 2023 to advance research and support the academic community. And we'll need your help.
Here are five projects we hope to launch in 2023 that are still in need of funding.
Fund an in-person seminar on wild animal welfare
Next year, we want to bring members of the wild animal welfare community together on a more frequent basis by hosting virtual and in-person seminars. These events will help students and scientists engage in discourse on exciting topics related to wild animal welfare, ideally springboarding ideas for further research.
Support students interested in studying wild animal welfare
Additional funding could help us conduct events aimed at undergraduate students, travel to meet with undergraduates in person, and provide financial support to undergraduate groups studying wild animal welfare.
Help us overcome language barriers to reach scientists
By offering events and content in the English language only, we realize we’re missing a large audience of potential wild animal welfare researchers who primarily use other languages. More funds could help us hire a language consultant to explore which languages would be most effective to prioritize, or commission a feasibility study and evaluate how we might build connections with people whose work is conducted in languages other than English.
Make more research papers open access
In order to make our papers open access, we typically have to pay additional fees, which can cost thousands of dollars per paper, depending on the journal. With additional funds, we could ensure that everyone has access to our research.
Increase the reach of wild animal welfare researchers
Wild Animal Initiative finds conferences highly valuable for our mission — we get to share our message with key audiences, and we invariably connect or reconnect with people who can advance interest in the wild animal welfare sciences. With more funding, we could offset the costs for aligned scientists to gather, network, and spread the word at conferences around the world.