PAN Works

In a world where only 4% of terrestrial mammals are wild, and 96% is either people or livestock, something is deeply wrong at both practical and moral levels.

Non-human animals (hereafter, animals) -- wild and domesticated, native or non-native, as individuals or in social/ecological communities -- face both absolute and relative dismissal in the public sphere. Either their wellbeing is not thought of at all, or they take a back seat to all other human issues. When they are considered, it is in the main as instruments to human wellbeing, that is, as food, labour, research material or ecosystem services.

This not only denies the intrinsic value of animals and the broader community of life, but disrespects the manifest relationships of care and mutuality between people, animals and nature that characterizes the best of humanity's history.

To bring animals fully into our circle of moral concern is the task of ethics, and the problem PAN Works was created to help solve.

There are two kinds of think tanks.

The first has a broad ambit, and looks over the horizon at the values and goals that animate society. Such think tanks may represent perspectives on the right or left, be nostalgic for the past, or envision bold transformation in the future. The second is narrowly focused on the creation of specific policies. Sometimes these policies are for the public good, and at other times for vested interests.

We are the first kind of ethically oriented think tank.

Our overall strategy is building the ethical capacity of individuals and groups. We do this to help them deliberate and make ethically informed decisions about the wellbeing of people, animals and nature.

The discussions and decisions we make in corporations, civil society and government reflect implicit and/or explicit moral values. We use research, education, training and the arts to reveal moral issues at stake, and provide guidance on how individual and collective agents may navigate those issues.

Being a think tank, our team is our most prized asset.

PAN Works brings together 20+ scholars and practitioners from across the globe to focus on issues of animal wellbeing. In both composition and organizational culture, our fellows are both refreshingly interdisciplinary and deeply knowledgable about human-animal interactions and what promotes or detracts from our shared wellbeing.

We differentiate ourselves in two ways. First, we are the only independent think tank to focus on animals themselves, and not subsume them under other social or environmental issues. Second, our practical approach to ethics sets us apart. We are pluralistic in both theory and method, a necessary virtue to grapple with complex problems involving animals in the public and private spheres.

In addition, we are a virtual office shorn of unnecessary bureaucracy and nimbly using online platforms for collaboration and public communication. Combined with a working board, this all contributes to a lean operation.

As a new organization, PAN Works has already distinguished itself. Three examples.

Our Moral Panic project and its first article -- "A Moral Panic Over Cats" -- transformed the debate over outdoor cats and biodiversity. Follow-on articles have underscored its message. In this research and public education effort, we debunk overstated claims that cats are a zombie apocalypse for wildlife and public health. As importantly, our intervention in this highly contentious issue integrates both science and ethics for a more nuanced, situated understanding for caring about and doing right by both cats and wildlife. The Moral Panic project is applying this framework to other value-laden issues in conservation.

Our Compassionate Conservation Initiative is a collection of interrelated projects revisioning what it means to practice conservation and respect wild lives. This is a contentious topic as it questions traditional conservations unreflective and routine harm of animals. As one example, our Compassionate Conservation Delphi is exploring what compassionate conservation means in practice. On the basis of this research we are preparing several articles with every prospect of transforming the discussion over how we mutually thrive with wildlife.

PAN Works is also publishing reference articles on animals, ethics and wellbeing. The concept of wellbeing is key here. It is a cutting-edge theoretical framework that embraces yet transcends animal welfare, integrating both ethics and science for the benefit of animals. As reference texts, this work will be widely used in teaching and training. The first of these, "Ethics, Wellbeing and Wild Lives" is set to be published in the Routledge Handbook of Human-Animal Interactions in early 2023. The second is a book edited by our fellow Liv Baker on Animal Wellbeing to be published in 2024 as part of Springer's long-running Animal Welfare reference series.