University of Oxford
11a Mansfield Rd
OX1 3SZ
UK
DPhil Student
Hsin-Cheng Ho
Background
Why does society’s compassion for animals often stop at cats and dogs, leaving the silent suffering of wildlife in the shadows?
I have been asking myself this question since childhood. As an only child in the suburbs, the wildlife around my home became my closest companions. Birds, snakes, mammals, and insects, countless quiet lives hidden in the trees and fields, shaped much of my childhood.
But some of my earliest memories are also filled with grief and helplessness. I watched lives I deeply cared about torn apart by free-roaming cats owned by neighbours. What stayed with me most was not only the deaths themselves, but the feeling that nobody else seemed to care. The deaths of wildlife went unnoticed by society, while people’s love for animals was reserved exclusively for cats and dogs. As I entered university, I began to notice the same pattern repeating. Endangered snakes, medium-sized carnivores on the campus, and many other native species are constantly killed by cats and dogs, paying the price for human negligence.
My passion for research stems from the determination to protect wildlife. This motivation may seem naive, and perhaps not entirely aligned with the prevailing broad anthropocentrism perspectives. However, I simply did not want to see more innocent individuals die when those deaths could have been prevented, when their lives were never meant to end this way.
I believe that changing the current situation requires two things: stronger local ecological data to guide policy, and a better understanding of how to persuade people to care. For this reason, my doctoral research brings together ecology and behavioural science, aiming to promote greater public awareness of the impacts of free-roaming cats. Through my work, I hope to build a society where wildlife no longer die as forgotten victims beneath the paws of free-roaming cats.
I have been asking myself this question since childhood. As an only child in the suburbs, the wildlife around my home became my closest companions. Birds, snakes, mammals, and insects, countless quiet lives hidden in the trees and fields, shaped much of my childhood.
But some of my earliest memories are also filled with grief and helplessness. I watched lives I deeply cared about torn apart by free-roaming cats owned by neighbours. What stayed with me most was not only the deaths themselves, but the feeling that nobody else seemed to care. The deaths of wildlife went unnoticed by society, while people’s love for animals was reserved exclusively for cats and dogs. As I entered university, I began to notice the same pattern repeating. Endangered snakes, medium-sized carnivores on the campus, and many other native species are constantly killed by cats and dogs, paying the price for human negligence.
My passion for research stems from the determination to protect wildlife. This motivation may seem naive, and perhaps not entirely aligned with the prevailing broad anthropocentrism perspectives. However, I simply did not want to see more innocent individuals die when those deaths could have been prevented, when their lives were never meant to end this way.
I believe that changing the current situation requires two things: stronger local ecological data to guide policy, and a better understanding of how to persuade people to care. For this reason, my doctoral research brings together ecology and behavioural science, aiming to promote greater public awareness of the impacts of free-roaming cats. Through my work, I hope to build a society where wildlife no longer die as forgotten victims beneath the paws of free-roaming cats.
Research Interests
I am broadly interested in human–wildlife conflicts, especially the ecological impacts of free-roaming cats and dogs, and how human behaviour can exacerbate these impacts. I am always eager to explore different dimensions of this issue.
Current Research
Given Taiwan’s unique ecosystem and conservation challenges, my DPhil research focuses on the interaction between leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis chinensis) and free-roaming cats. As Taiwan’s only remaining native feline, the leopard cat is critically endangered and faces severe competitive pressure from free-roaming cats, even resulting in mortality.
The first half of my doctoral research will investigate the ecological threats posed by free-roaming cats to leopard cats, as well as how human activities may intensify these pressures. As leopard cats already receive considerable public attention in Taiwan, I also hope this work can help raise broader awareness of the ecological impacts of free-roaming cats.
The second half of my research will focus on designing behavioural interventions that discourage people from feeding stray cats and keep their pet cats free-roaming, while also examining the motivations and cultural contexts that shape these behaviours within Taiwanese society. Through this interdisciplinary approach, I hope to contribute to more effective, culturally grounded conservation strategies to address the impacts of free-roaming cats on wildlife.
Brief CV
Education
2025-present: DPhil in Biology, University of Oxford
2021-2024: MSc in Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University
2017-2021: BSc in Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University
Awards and Scholarships
2025 Oxford-Taiwan Graduate Scholarship
2025 Jason Hu Scholarship, Balliol College, Oxford
2025 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Biodiversity Scholarship – Elite Award
2025 Award for Outstanding Student Research Paper, College of Bioresources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University
2024 Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Research Paper, National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan
2024 Outstanding Graduate Student Scholarship, Department of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University
2024 Best Oral Presentation, Congress of Animal Behaviour and Ecology, Taiwan
Publications
Ho, H. C., Ding, T. S., Yuan, H. W., Tsai, J. S., Weng, G. J., Lin, Y. H., Cheng, H. L., Huang, Yu. Bo., Yen, S. C. (2025). Impacts of free-roaming dogs on spatiotemporal niches of native carnivores in Taiwan. Global Ecology and Conservation, 57, e03411.