I may not have much to add, because I know youāve thought a ton about this and Iām obviously not on the AWF panel. But for what itās worth, hereās how I would rate those categories, in descending order of expected impact:
Research to inform future interventions
Advocacy to raise concern about the subject
Current interventions to improve wild animal welfare
Most of all, I think we should be measuring projects by how they contribute to the formation of a movement around wild animal welfare. That points in a slightly different direction than if we just think about the direct impact of a particular project. For example:
Research: Developing methods or concepts might catalyze further research better than simply developing technologies or species-specific knowledge.
Advocacy: Appealing to conservation organizations (āgrasstopsā) might build coalitions quicker than appealing to the general public (āgrassrootsā).
Current interventions: Conceptually simple interventions on somewhat likable species (e.g., rat contraception) might attract more resources to the cause than counterintuitive interventions on alien species (e.g., humane insecticides), even if the latter would have more impact in the short term.
Hi Max!
I may not have much to add, because I know youāve thought a ton about this and Iām obviously not on the AWF panel. But for what itās worth, hereās how I would rate those categories, in descending order of expected impact:
Research to inform future interventions
Advocacy to raise concern about the subject
Current interventions to improve wild animal welfare
Most of all, I think we should be measuring projects by how they contribute to the formation of a movement around wild animal welfare. That points in a slightly different direction than if we just think about the direct impact of a particular project. For example:
Research: Developing methods or concepts might catalyze further research better than simply developing technologies or species-specific knowledge.
Advocacy: Appealing to conservation organizations (āgrasstopsā) might build coalitions quicker than appealing to the general public (āgrassrootsā).
Current interventions: Conceptually simple interventions on somewhat likable species (e.g., rat contraception) might attract more resources to the cause than counterintuitive interventions on alien species (e.g., humane insecticides), even if the latter would have more impact in the short term.
Feel free to reach out if you want to bounce around ideas! cameronms@wildanimalinitiative.org