Zoonotic diseases — those that cross from animals to humans — create welfare dilemmas where the response to human health threats often involves large-scale lethal control of wildlife. The One Health framework seeks solutions that protect both human and animal health simultaneously.
Bats are natural reservoirs for many zoonotic viruses (coronaviruses, Nipah, Hendra, Ebola). Public fear following COVID-19 led to cave disturbances and bat killing in some regions — causing welfare harm while potentially increasing spillover risk (stressed, disturbed bats shed virus more). Conservation messaging emphasizes that bats in their natural roosting habitat pose minimal risk; human intrusion into bat habitat drives spillover. Protecting bat habitat is both a welfare and public health intervention.
Rabies kills 59,000 humans annually — almost all from domestic dog bites. Wildlife reservoir management traditionally involved culling — mass killing of wild dogs, jackals, and foxes. Mass oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of wildlife — baits distributed by air and ground — has eliminated fox rabies from Western Europe without killing wildlife. Dog mass vaccination programs in sub-Saharan Africa are proving effective at source. Each shift from culling to vaccination preserves animal lives while achieving equivalent public health outcomes.
The One Health principle — that human, animal, and environmental health are interconnected — is the conceptual foundation for welfare-positive approaches to zoonotic disease. One Health solutions prioritize: habitat protection reducing human-wildlife contact; mass vaccination of animal reservoirs; improved farm biosecurity; and elimination of live wildlife markets — achieving disease control without the welfare costs of mass culling.