Snow Leopard Welfare and Conservation

Snow leopards face poaching, prey depletion and human-wildlife conflict in the high mountain ranges of Central Asia, with welfare harms at each stage.

Key Facts

Around 4,000-6,500 snow leopards remain across 12 range countries
Snow leopards range over enormous territories — up to 1,000 km2 per individual
They are killed in retaliation for livestock predation — hundreds annually
Poaching for skins, bones and live animals feeds illegal wildlife trade
Climate change is shifting their high-altitude habitat upward, reducing available range

Welfare Considerations

Snow leopards caught in snares or killed by herders for livestock predation suffer acute welfare harm. Captured live animals in the illegal trade experience severe handling stress. Snare-caught snow leopards that are not killed immediately experience prolonged suffering before discovery. Community livestock protection programmes — using predator-proof corrals and guardian dogs — reduce retaliatory killing by addressing the underlying human-wildlife conflict without harm to snow leopards.

What You Can Do

Support the Snow Leopard Trust and its community coexistence programmes
Donate to anti-poaching operations in key snow leopard range states
Refuse to purchase any wildlife products that may contain snow leopard parts
Advocate for strengthened wildlife crime enforcement in Central Asian range countries