Wild Animals in Urban Spaces: How Cities Can Promote Wild Animal Welfare in the Built Environment

This talk is presented by the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program, the NYU Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law, and the Yale Law, Ethics & Animals Program.

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About the talk

Cities are often thought of as distinctly human environments. Yet, a wide variety of wild animals continue to make their homes in and around dense urban areas. Experts increasingly accept that human, animal, and environmental health are intrinsically linked. In this vein, cities have the opportunity to consider how they can adapt their built infrastructure to promote the wellbeing of the human as well as nonhuman residents that share these spaces.

This panel will bring together experts in local policy, building sustainability, and wild animal welfare to discuss how cities and other local actors can shape their policies for land use and the built environment to better promote the welfare of wild animals. As part of the discussion, researchers from NYU will present findings from a newly-released report that identifies promising policy options for cities to consider, ranging from bird-friendly building materials to green infrastructure design and prohibitions on gas leaf blowers.

Read the full report.

Read the highlights.

Speakers

Alisa White, Legal Fellow, Guarini Center
Alexandra Silver, Director, New York City Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare
Cecil Scheib, Chief Sustainability Officer, NYU Office of Sustainability
Dr. Mal Graham, Strategy Director, Wild Animal Initiative
Jeff Sebo (moderator), Co-Director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program & Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, New York University

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