“Wild Animal Initiative: When does research become impact?” by SiobhanBall
Description
Wild animal suffering is vast, neglected, and morally urgent. I’m strongly in favour of building a field that can eventually deliver safe, scalable welfare improvements for free-living animals. I also recognise that this area is technically complex and requires foundational research. But after reading WAI's latest annual report, I simply have to ask:
When does any of this work actually reduce wild animal suffering?
WAI themselves say that ‘it's reasonable to ask whether this will all be worth it’ on p. 28 of their most recent annual report. What then follows is an illustrative case study regarding rabies vaccination, with figures they describe as ‘back of the envelope’ and ‘intentionally crude.’
After 4-5 years and several millions in funding, I can’t find evidence in this report of an intervention, policy change, or measurable welfare improvement driven by WAI's research. What's more concerning is that the report doesn’t spell out a concrete timeline or milestones for when their research is expected to translate into specific welfare interventions or policy changes. Beyond vague phrases like ‘interventions relatively soon’ and a five-year plan to build presence in ecology, there's no clear indication of when wild animals might benefit.
[...]
---
First published:
November 14th, 2025
---
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
United States
