There are needs everywhere in animal advocacy, but wild animal suffering remains tremendously neglected. Even if we were uncertain about the relative importance of wild animal suffering, it is still clear that it is vast in scope. It would be a very serious mistake to neglect it. However, that is what’s currently happening.
At a recent animal advocacy conference, Animal Ethics co-founder Oscar Horta delivered a presentation on this critical issue. His talk, “Current efforts to expand wild animal advocacy internationally,” provided an overview of wild animal suffering and the ongoing efforts to address it.
Current efforts to help wild animals are far more widespread than many people think, ranging from rescue centers and building shelters to large-scale measures like vaccination programs. However, and again contrary to popular belief, there is a dire need to scale up those efforts. This is because life in the wild is often filled with vast amounts of suffering. Animals there face numerous challenges, including harsh weather conditions, food and water scarcity, diseases, and parasitism. In fact, most animals do not survive to adulthood, as the conditions for wild animals are so dire that the prevalent reproductive strategies involve having very large numbers of offspring, of which only a minority make it to maturity (on average, one per parent).
It’s a common belief that advocating for wild animals involves intervening in nature while other views do not. The fact is that humans already intervene in nature in numerous ways all the time. However, it is usually to promote human interests or conservationist goals, not the interests of animals. It’s high time we take the interests of wild animals into account, so we take proactive steps to reduce their suffering.
There are several ways that both individuals and organizations can support wild animal welfare efforts. Individuals can share information on social media, organize events such as talks or reading groups, conduct research or collaborate with existing researchers, and provide financial support to organizations working in this field. Organizations can incorporate wild animal welfare issues in educational materials, invite advocates to give talks or provide training, explore wild animal welfare topics in research, and work for policy changes.
Animal Ethics has done some research about topics in wild animal suffering. At this point, however, our focus is on doing outreach so as many people as possible, especially among certain key groups, are aware of the importance of wild animal suffering. This work includes our 28-video course about wild animal suffering and the ebook that covers the same material.
This, together with the research that is done by others on how to help wild animals, will make it possible in the future to push for policy changes by asking policymakers to take a stand on this issue. We hope this will happen in the near future, although this depends on how much progress we can make now.
Much more needs to be done in the field. There is currently an imbalance in resource allocation within the animal advocacy movement, with only a handful of organizations focusing on wild animal welfare. The reach of the very few organizations working on this area is still very small. The main reason is that resources are still grossly insufficient. There is an urgent need for more resources and support in the field of wild animal suffering.
At Animal Ethics, we are committed to continuing our work in this crucial area. We invite you to join us in this endeavor by exploring our resources, sharing our message, and supporting our efforts to create a better world for all sentient beings, including those in the wild. Together, we can make a big difference in the lives of countless animals living in the wild.