This talk took place online on November 18, 2024 and was hosted by the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program.
About the event
Current approaches in environmental conservation do not sufficiently recognize the agency of wild animals, meaningfully affecting the outcomes of conservation interventions. In this conversation, the authors of two recent articles on this topic discuss how understanding individual differences in animal personalities and behaviors can transform conservation strategies. The speakers explore how acknowledging animals as social and cultural beings with agency would help conservationists design more effective practices for the long term. By reshaping traditional assumptions and embracing animal individuality, conservation can better balance the needs of wildlife and humans in shared spaces. Following a moderated conversation between the panelists, there are audience questions.
About the speakers
A professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Marc Bekoff has published 31 books (or 41, depending on how you count multi-volume encyclopedias). He has won many awards for his research on animal behavior, animal emotions (cognitive ethology), compassionate conservation, and animal protection, has worked closely with Jane Goodall as co-chair of the ethics committee of the Jane Goodall Institute, and is a former Guggenheim Fellow. He also works closely with inmates at the Boulder County Jail.
Matthew Hayek is an environmental scientist and Assistant Professor in the NYU Department of Environmental Studies. His research quantifies the environmental impacts of our food system, with a specific focus on farmed animals, their greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, and land use changes including deforestation. His work has also interrogated how these environmental impacts intersect with farmed animal welfare, wildlife habitat, zoonotic diseases, and how policies can address these intersecting risks. Dr. Hayek received his PhD in Environmental Science and Engineering from Harvard University, which was followed by a postdoc appointment at the Harvard Law School Animal Law and Policy Program. He is also an affiliated faculty member in the NYU Center for Data Science and the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program.
About the NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program
The NYU Wild Animal Welfare Program aims to advance understanding about what wild animals are like, how humans and wild animals interact, and how humans can improve our interactions with wild animals at scale. We pursue this goal through foundational research in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, as well as through outreach to academics, advocates, policymakers, and the general public.
Thank you to NYU Animal Studies for supporting this event.