Wolf recovery in Europe and North America has been one of conservation's great successes, but creates genuine livestock welfare concerns that must be managed humanely for coexistence to succeed.
Wolf-livestock conflict creates welfare implications for multiple animals. Livestock killed by wolves experience predatory attack — a welfare harm that coexistence management must minimize. However, wolves killed in response to livestock depredation suffer the welfare harm of lethal management that more effective prevention could avoid. The welfare case for coexistence uses non-lethal deterrents to protect livestock, compensation to reduce economic harm to farmers, and avoidance of lethal wolf control except as a last resort after prevention failure. Countries that have successfully maintained both wolf populations and livestock production demonstrate that coexistence is achievable with appropriate support.