My training in philosophy had taught me to be distrustful of claims of human exceptionalism, yet these claims are implicit everywhere in wildlife management and conservation.” ~ Francisco Santiago-Avila, Ph.D. candidate, UW-Madison Nelson Institute

I attended the Nelson Institute Earth Day primarily to hear Fran Santiago-Avila’s talk. His biography caught my attention:

“As part of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab, Fran’s research has revolved around the integration and application of environmental and animal ethics to coexistence with wildlife, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of lethal and non-lethal methods to prevent conflicts with large carnivores (the gray wolf, in particular). His main objective is to reform human-wildlife interactions by embedding in them the acknowledgment of moral standing for individual nonhuman animals.

I met with Francisco at Café Zuma on Atwood Avenue to understand more of his background and efforts.

He told me, “I see the urgency of getting the acknowledgement of…