Thanks for sharing, @Casey Darnley! If someone donates 100 $ to Wild Animal Initiative (WAI) today, how much will support invertebrates instead of vertebrates?
Thanks for the question, Vasco. I apologize for the delay in my response. I somehow missed this question when you first posted it.
Itās a bit tough to answer because our research isnāt just about generating findings for the specific animals we study- itās about building foundational knowledge and tools that can be applied much more broadly, across taxa. Weāre committed to ensuring that the field of wild animal welfare science meaningfully includes invertebrates because we believe the field wonāt progress adequately if their welfare isnāt seriously considered.
Rather than thinking of a donation as being split between vertebrates and invertebrates, it might be more accurate to think of the āinvertebrate impactā of a donation as reflecting your confidence that our field-building work will help ensure invertebrate welfare is taken seriously as the science advances.
Rather than thinking of a donation as being split between vertebrates and invertebrates, it might be more accurate to think of the āinvertebrate impactā of a donation as reflecting your confidence that our field-building work will help ensure invertebrate welfare is taken seriously as the science advances.
I would still find it useful to know how historical funding has been allocated across animal populations, and, ideally, about the allocation of marginal funding.
If youāre hoping for a precise breakdown, such as āX% to vertebrates, Y% to invertebrates,ā our grants program history shows $4.9M allocated to vertebrates (including fish/ārodents) and $0.46M allocated to invertebrates. That said, over the past two years, our support for invertebrate projects has nearly doubled compared to our first two years (1.85x). Weāve started seeing more strong proposals focused on invertebrates and fish, with researchers telling us they heard about us as a group keen on invertebrate welfare, which is a genuinely encouraging sign that our field-building efforts are working.
However, those numbers donāt fully capture what weāre actually trying to achieve. Many of our grants and internal research projects develop methods, data, and tools that serve wild animals broadly, rather than focusing on a single specific taxon. Many projects start with a particular species but have much broader applications as the science develops. Many of our grants are meta-projects (e.g., modeling frameworks or welfare measurement tools) with potential that extends beyond vertebrates alone.
Our goal is to establish a research ecosystem that benefits all wild animals, including invertebrates, while striking a balance between pushing new research areas and keeping people excited to contribute. Species-type tracking misses how resources multiply and ripple through the field.
We want to be mindful of how we spend our time, so unless there are significant updates or developments, we wonāt be posting more on this thread. We are always happy to reconnect down the line if thereās something meaningful to add.
Thanks for sharing, @Casey Darnley! If someone donates 100 $ to Wild Animal Initiative (WAI) today, how much will support invertebrates instead of vertebrates?
Thanks for the question, Vasco. I apologize for the delay in my response. I somehow missed this question when you first posted it.
Itās a bit tough to answer because our research isnāt just about generating findings for the specific animals we study- itās about building foundational knowledge and tools that can be applied much more broadly, across taxa. Weāre committed to ensuring that the field of wild animal welfare science meaningfully includes invertebrates because we believe the field wonāt progress adequately if their welfare isnāt seriously considered.
When someone donates $100 to WAI today, that gift is allocated to our general operating budget, not separate funds for invertebrate or vertebrate projects. Because we donāt receive much restricted funding, every dollar supports the full range of WAW field-building activities, encompassing both vertebrates and invertebrates. Some of our research does directly focus on insects (Field tests of bee welfare, Measuring health and frailty in wild insects, Improving the welfare of wild and captive animals with integrated in-situ and ex-situ behavioural monitoring, Improving the welfare of farmland invertebrates), while other work, such as our general outreach and research, includes invertebrates as part of a broader focus. For example, Michael Beaulieuās recent research article on oxidative status included insects but was not focused exclusively on them.
Rather than thinking of a donation as being split between vertebrates and invertebrates, it might be more accurate to think of the āinvertebrate impactā of a donation as reflecting your confidence that our field-building work will help ensure invertebrate welfare is taken seriously as the science advances.
Thanks for clarifying, Casey! That makes sense.
Hi @Casey Darnley.
I would still find it useful to know how historical funding has been allocated across animal populations, and, ideally, about the allocation of marginal funding.
Hi @Vasco Grilošø
If youāre hoping for a precise breakdown, such as āX% to vertebrates, Y% to invertebrates,ā our grants program history shows $4.9M allocated to vertebrates (including fish/ārodents) and $0.46M allocated to invertebrates. That said, over the past two years, our support for invertebrate projects has nearly doubled compared to our first two years (1.85x). Weāve started seeing more strong proposals focused on invertebrates and fish, with researchers telling us they heard about us as a group keen on invertebrate welfare, which is a genuinely encouraging sign that our field-building efforts are working.
However, those numbers donāt fully capture what weāre actually trying to achieve. Many of our grants and internal research projects develop methods, data, and tools that serve wild animals broadly, rather than focusing on a single specific taxon. Many projects start with a particular species but have much broader applications as the science develops. Many of our grants are meta-projects (e.g., modeling frameworks or welfare measurement tools) with potential that extends beyond vertebrates alone.
Our goal is to establish a research ecosystem that benefits all wild animals, including invertebrates, while striking a balance between pushing new research areas and keeping people excited to contribute. Species-type tracking misses how resources multiply and ripple through the field.
We want to be mindful of how we spend our time, so unless there are significant updates or developments, we wonāt be posting more on this thread. We are always happy to reconnect down the line if thereās something meaningful to add.
Thanks for clarifying, and providing a breakdown, Casey!