Wild Animal Welfare Movement Takes Shape Worldwide
Published by Sentient Media
A koala named Ellenborough Lewis has captured the heart of the internet. Millions of supporters from around the globe are cheering for Ellenborough as he recovers from life-threatening burns sustained in a forest fire. A woman surrounded by flames in the midst of the Australian bushfires rescued the koala using the shirt off her back. Two weeks later, the viral video of his rescue has helped to garner more than a million dollars in donations for the hospital treating Ellenborough.
Nature can be brutal for wild animals, who are afflicted by extreme weather conditions, like the Australian bushfires, and much more. A new animal protection movement posits that humans can and should systematically reduce the suffering of wild animals. Most of us are familiar with efforts to improve the lives of shelter pets and animals in factory farms, yet few people have heard of the wild animal welfare movement. The population of free-roaming animals dramatically exceeds the number of animals living in factory farms, in laboratories, or as companions, but humans pay little attention to the wellbeing of wild animals. Wild animal welfare advocates believe that humans can best help wild animals by identifying the sources of suffering in the wild and implementing solutions that eliminate them.
