Caimans, the smaller relatives of crocodilians in South America, face welfare challenges from the legal skin trade, illegal hunting, and habitat loss.
Legal sustainable-use programs for caiman skins, such as those in Venezuela and Colombia, aim to reduce poaching by giving communities economic incentives. However, welfare during harvest varies. Illegal hunting typically involves inhumane killing methods. Captive breeding in ranches raises welfare questions about crowding, temperature regulation, and stress. Larger species like the black caiman require vast territories and suffer significantly when confined. Climate change is altering wet-dry season patterns critical to caiman reproduction.