Wild Animal Initiative

Wild Animal Initiative (WAI) is an American nonprofit organization that conducts and funds research on improving wild animal welfare and supports researchers working in the field. Formed in 2019 from Utility Farm and Wild-Animal Suffering Research, it has been recommended by Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) since 2020.

History WAI was formed in 2019 through the merger of Utility Farm, founded in 2016 by Abraham Rowe, and Wild-Animal Suffering Research, founded in 2017 by Persis Eskander. Under the merger, Utility Farm acquired the funds of Wild-Animal Suffering Research and legally changed its name to Wild Animal Initiative. The organization subsequently concentrated its work on supporting academic research.

Abraham Rowe was WAI's first Executive Director. Mal Graham succeeded him in 2019. In 2022, Graham became Strategy Director and Cameron Meyer Shorb became Executive Director.

In 2021, WAI received a $3.5 million grant from Coefficient Giving (then known as Open Philanthropy) to support research on wild animal welfare. The same year, it launched a research fund that planned to distribute more than $3 million to academic research projects over the following two years. WAI received a further $6 million grant from Coefficient Giving in 2023.

Activities WAI works to develop wild animal welfare science as an academic field. Its programs include in-house research, grants to external researchers, and services and networking for scientists studying wild animal welfare. Its research includes methods for measuring welfare in free-ranging animals and research intended to inform possible interventions.

ACE reported in its 2025 evaluation that WAI had awarded $4.7 million in research funding to 72 projects since 2023. The projects included research on fish welfare, welfare indicators, the effects of parasites and pathogens, and possible interventions.

Evaluations ACE designated WAI as a "top charity" in 2020, meaning that ACE considered donating to it one of the most cost-effective ways to help animals. WAI retained its "top charity" status in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, after ACE replaced its "top" and "standout" categories with a single "recommended charity" category, WAI remained among its recommended charities. Its recommendation was renewed following a further evaluation in 2025, and ACE continued to list WAI among its recommended charities in 2026.

In its 2025 review, ACE described WAI's route to affecting animal welfare as longer-term and more indirect than that of charities conducting direct interventions. ACE assessed the uncertainty surrounding WAI's impact as moderate-to-high and did not estimate the number of animals affected per dollar because of the uncertainty involved in its field-building work. It nevertheless concluded that WAI's programs had operated cost-effectively to that point.

WAI has been awarded a four-star rating with a score of 97% by Charity Navigator.

Wild Animal Initiative

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