PAN Works
@panworks.bsky.social
PAN Works is an ethics, science and policy think tank dedicated to animal wellbeing.
We sit down with Fred Koontz, PhD, of PAN Works to discuss the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.Touted as a global model, is it now a moral and political quagmire of conflicting values and language? panworks.medium.com/the-north-am...
The North American Model of Conservation
A Political Quagmire of Language and Ethics
panworks.medium.com
Please join us in welcoming Nyssa Braid to PAN Works! As our newest Junior Fellow, Nyssa will explore how art can facilitate feelings of connection and care for wild lives.
Introducing Nyssa Braid
PAN Works’ newest Junior Fellow.
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Did you know that PAN Works has a Flipboard? If not, now is a great time to browse our curated collection of readings on animals, ethics, and wellbeing.
Flipboard: What We’re Reading
Explore PAN Works’ curated collection of readings on Flipboard.
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We sit down with Nandita Bajaj of Population Balance to ask the questions most institutions actively avoid: What role does human population growth play in anthropogenic harms to animals? And why is this conversation silenced in academic, conservation, and policy circles? medium.com/p/impacts-of...
Impacts of Human Population Pressures on Animals
A Silenced Debate
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We're back this week with another important contribution from Emily Major, PhD. In her newly published article, Emily explores the concept of a "boogeyman" as it is applied to nonhuman animals, inviting readers to question how this framing has been used to justify violence against our fellow beings.
The Boogeymen of Our Forests
Anti-Possum Rhetoric and the Construction of Fear in Dominant Conservation Messaging in New Zealand
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How do we centre ethics in conservation when human, animal, and environmental health are interdependent? We've spent the past months exploring One Health ethics through the PAN Thinks podcast. medium.com/p/one-health... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p... www.youtube.com/@panworksio
One Health Ethics and Conservation
A Four-Part Series
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PAN Works Research Fellow and newly appointed UPF Centre for Animal Ethics Junior Fellow, Emily Major, PhD, explores the emerging field of Critical Pest Studies, examining how ideas of "pests" are shaped by ecology, politics, and culture - challenging us to rethink our relationship with animals.
Introducing Critical Pest Studies
And PAN Works’ Own 2026 UPF CAE Junior Fellow.
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What does autonomy look like for an elephant? Partnering with Karen communities in Thailand and collecting data across seasons, PAN Works' own Dr. Liv Baker's recently published research presents a rewilding model that supports elephant autonomy while also conserving local cultural traditions.
Autonomy: An Indicator of Wellbeing in Rewilded Asian Elephants Connected to Karen Communities in…
Originally published in Society & Animals by Liv Baker, Janet V. T. Pauketat, Sarah Blaine, Chelsea Greer, Kristina Howansky, Elodie…
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What do elephant foraging behaviors have to do with their rich social and cognitive experiences? In a recently published chapter, Dr. Baker examines the complexities of elephant foraging in Thailand and situates these behaviors within larger wellbeing, multispecies, and ethnographic contexts.
The Complexity of Foraging and its Role in Elephant Well-being
Originally published as a chapter in Elephant Welfare in Global Tourism by Liv Baker, Rebecca Winkler, Sarah Blaine, Chelsea Greer, Kerri…
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What happens when we are asked to decide which species should survive? Drawing on his experience as a member of the Barred Owl Stakeholder Group, PAN Works founder Bill Lynn, PhD, reflects on the profound ethical questions raised by the barred owl removal experiment in the Pacific Northwest.
Killing Barred Owls is a Moral Atrocity
Originally published by Bill Lynn, PhD, in The Ecological Citizen.
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Why has the "ballot box biology" narrative been so effective in shaping wildlife policy debates? In her Substack, Dr. Becky Niemiec examines its role in opposing wildlife protection initiatives across America and uses Moral Foundations Theory to explain its appeal. medium.com/@panworks/ba...
“Ballot Box Biology:” The Myth That Stopped Proposition 127 — and Could Shape the Future of…
It’s time for the animal protection movement to create a national campaign inoculating the public against the “ballot box biology”…
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An elephant pauses at a crossroads, trunk testing the wind, and decides. What does she know? On PAN Thinks, Liv Baker makes the case that animals are knowers — and that taking their inner lives seriously changes how we do science and ethics. New 3-part series 🐘 panworks.medium.com/what-it-mean...
What It Means to Know an Animal
A podcast series on animal autonomy and wellbeing
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medium.com/p/6d0a8e5adb... What do we owe wild neighbours? In a recent PAN Thinks episode, I sit down with Brandon Keim, author of Meet the Neighbors, alongside Barbara King and Fred Koontz, to explore what the science of animal cognition means for how we live alongside other species.
What Do the Animals Around Us Actually Know?
A new episode of PAN Thinks explores the inner lives of our wild neighbours — and why it matters.
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In this piece originally posted on Conservation Works by Michelle Nijhuis, explore the idea of stewardship in conservation and contemplate the role that humans have to play. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #stewardship #reciprocity #conservation
Words We Need: Stewardship
Modern conservation’s missing piece.
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Originally published in Earth Tongues, please enjoy this fascinating piece by Eileen Crist in which she argues that nihilism is the metaphysics of human supremacy. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #nihilism #metaphysics #humansupremacy #totalitariansim #sacredness
The Metaphysics of Human Supremacy
Originally published in Earth Tongues by Eileen Crist.
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In revisiting her 2022 piece, PAN Works Fellow Joann Lindenmayer and her colleagues lay the bedrock for the integration of ethics into One Health. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #onehealth #compassion #conservation #publicpolicy #climatechange
One Health Ethics
What then must we do?*
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In a recently published article, PAN Works Research Fellow Emily Major, PhD, explores how social work can mitigate possum cruelty in New Zealand and promote a more species-inclusive approach. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #conservation #publicpolicy #socialwork #brushtailpossums #newzealand
Brushtail Possums and Species-inclusive Social Work in Aotearoa New Zealand
Originally published in Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work by Emily Major, PhD.
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Danielle Raad, PhD, former PAN Works Fellow and Assistant Professor of History and Museum Studies at the University of Georgia, has published a new book titled "Above the Oxbow: Stories Entangled with a Mountain." #publichistory #environmentalhistory #ethnography #mountholyoke #massachusetts
Former PAN Fellow Publishes New Book
Danielle Raad, PhD, former PAN Works Fellow and Assistant Professor of History and Museum Studies at the University of Georgia, has…
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In this recently published article, Dr. Rebecca Niemiec and her colleagues explore the role that pluralistic ignorance may play in policy engagement related to animal protection. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #coexistence #compassion #conservation #publicpolicy #socialscience
Widespread Public Support and Pluralistic Ignorance Associated with United States Animal Protection…
Originally published in Human-Animal Interactions by Rebecca Niemiec, Lori Kogan, Megan S. Jones, Francisco J. Santiago-Ávila, Renee…
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PAN Works' own Julie Urbanik, PhD, sat down virtually with the author of The Sound of Feathers, Katie Gillespie, PhD. Together, they discuss how Katie invites readers to notice the small wonders of life all around us. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #coexistence #conservation #multispeciesjustice
Inside “The Sound of Feathers: Attentive Living in a World Beyond Ourselves”
A PAN Works Conversation with Katie Gillespie
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Please enjoy this excerpt from a recent book chapter, in which PAN Works authors argue that animal wellbeing should serve as a guiding principle in shaping the ethics of our relationship with wildlife. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #coexistence #compassion #conservation #publicpolicy
Ethics, Wellbeing and Wild Lives
Originally published as a chapter in the book, The Routledge International Handbook of Human-Animal Interactions and Anthrozoology by…
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In this final installment by Dr. John Hadidian, he explores the evolving human-beaver relationship and how shifting perspectives will shape coexistence in an increasingly human-dominated landscape. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #coexistence #compassion #beavers #America #conservation #publicpolicy
Living with Beavers in America: Part 3
Originally published on WellBeing International by John Hadidian, PhD.
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This week, dive into Part 2 of Dr. John Hadidian’s "Beavers in America" series where he explores historical accounts of beavers and their remarkable journey toward recovery and repatriation. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #coexistence #compassion #beavers #America #conservation #publicpolicy
Beavers in America: Part 2
Originally published on WellBeing International by John Hadidian, PhD.
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In this, the first piece of a three-part series by Dr. John Hadidian, we are invited to explore the question: will beavers be part of redefining human-wildlife relationships, or just another pest to be controlled? #animals #ethics #wellbeing #coexistence #beavers #conservation #publicpolicy
Beavers in America: Part 1
Originally published on WellBeing International by John Hadidian, PhD.
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Join us for a series of podcasts on one health ethics for wildlife protection and conservation. panworks.medium.com/one-health-e...
One Health Ethics
For the Wellbeing of People, Animals and Nature
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"The message is clear: for the sake of animals, their lives, and communities — and for nature itself — the conservation community must prioritize animal wellbeing in all its practices and decision-making processes." #animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #conservation #publicpolicy
Compassionate Conservation Practice
Supporting diverse conservation actions but context matters.
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Journey with Isabelle Ivy Pass as she invites us to reconsider our relationships with the species we commonly consider "pests" in our lives. #animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #conservation #sentience #publicpolicy
Pigeons, Cockroaches, and Rats — Oh My, Yes!
By Isabelle Ivy Pass.
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"The question is no longer whether animals are sentient - it is why we continue to behave as if they are not." #animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #conservation #sentience
Animal Sentience Is Not a Belief. It’s an Evidence-Based Scientific Conclusion.
Originally published on LinkedIn by Kati Bertrand, M.S., of Science Advancement and Outreach.
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What do conservationists have to learn from science-fiction writer Octavia Butler? Read this piece from environmental journalist Michelle Nijhuis to understand how we can "learn from the past, and keep an eye on the horizon." #animals #ethics #wellbeing #compassion #conservation #publicpolicy
How (and Why) to Predict the Future
Octavia Butler and the conservation horizon.
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