Bison are semi-wild animals whose farming creates unique welfare challenges compared to domestic cattle.
Bison occupy an interesting welfare space — they are farmed like cattle but behave like wild animals. Their acute stress responses to handling and confinement are far more extreme than domestic cattle, making routine husbandry procedures genuinely dangerous for both animals and handlers. Processing facilities designed for cattle often cause higher bison injury and stress than purpose-designed facilities. Large-pasture grazing systems provide much better welfare than intensive finishing. The commercial bison industry has relatively high awareness of handling challenges because of safety implications for workers.