Explicit value trade-offs in conservation: integrating animal welfare

Kate E Lynch; Benjamin L Allen; Oded Berger-Tal; Fiona Fidler; Georgia E Garrard; Jordan O Hampton; Christopher H Lean; Kirsten M Parris; Sally L Sherwen; Thomas E White; Bob B M Wong; Daniel T Blumstein

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.013

Explicit value trade-offs in conservation: integrating animal welfare

Trends Ecol Evol. 2025 Jun;40(6):593-600. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.013. Epub 2025 Apr 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of History and Philosophy of Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia; School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. Electronic address: kate.lynch@sydney.edu.au.
² Wildlife Management Sciences, Grantham, QLD 4347, Australia; Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth 6034, South Africa.
³ Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel.
⁴ School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁵ School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia; Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
⁶ School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia; Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁷ Department of Philosophy, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW 2109, Australia.
⁸ School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁹ School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia; Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
¹⁰ School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.
¹¹ School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Monash, VIC 3800, Australia.
¹² Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA. Electronic address: marmots@ucla.edu.

PMID: 40268642
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.013

Abstract

Conservation is an evolving discipline, with its values changing over time. Animal welfare is gaining attention, but can conflict with other conservation values. We illustrate how different management decisions arise from prioritizing different values, and show how these conflicts can depend on value prioritization, as well as how values such as animal welfare are defined. This includes the limits (type of welfare states), scope (range of species), and timescales considered. Since small changes in value articulation and prioritization can lead to major changes in management decisions, we argue for making values and trade-offs explicit. An established structured decision-making (SDM) framework can enhance transparency, reducing misunderstanding in conservation controversies and helping maintain public trust in science.

Keywords: animal welfare; conservation; cultural values; economic values; public health; wildlife management.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animal Welfare*
Animals
Conservation of Natural Resources* / methods
Decision Making*