Wildlife

Wild Invasive Species Removal Welfare Tradeoffs

Invasive species removal programs often involve killing large numbers of animals to protect native species, creating complex welfare tradeoffs.

Key Facts

Invasive cats on islands have driven numerous seabird species to extinction
Removal of island cats has enabled dramatic native species recovery
Rodent eradications on islands use anticoagulant poisons that cause some non-target mortality
Welfare costs of invasive removal must be weighed against welfare benefits for native species

Welfare Considerations

Invasive species removal involves genuine welfare tradeoffs where killing individual invasive animals prevents greater native species welfare harm. The welfare math changes depending on the scale of native species benefit, the number of invasive animals affected, and the humaneness of removal methods.

What You Can Do

Support invasive species removal programs that include non-target mortality assessment
Advocate for the most humane effective removal methods available
Back research into non-lethal invasive species control where feasible
Never introduce non-native animals to natural environments that could become invasive