On 27 March 2025, Tristan Katz completed his doctoral studies at the Environmental Science and Humanities Institute after successfully defending his thesis. In his PhD thesis, he investigates how wildlife managers should respond to the suffering of wild animals.

Most wild animals die young while experiencing great suffering, not due to human activity but due to natural, competitive evolutionary pressures. This raises the question of whether wildlife managers should intervene to reduce this suffering.

The thesis addresses three key uncertainties: whether we have a duty to help wild animals, whether interventions can succeed given ecological complexity, and how animal welfare should be balanced against conservation values.

The thesis concludes that addressing wild animal suffering in wildlife management is both morally imperative and practically achievable through carefully designed interventions and a precautionary approach that balances welfare benefits against ecological risks.

The Environmental Science and Humanities Institute team would like to extend our warmest thanks to Tristan Katz for his commitment over the past few years. We wish him the best of luck in the future and look forward to continuing our collaboration.