African wild dogs are one of the most endangered large carnivores in Africa, with small fragmented populations facing snaring, disease, and human-wildlife conflict that cause severe individual welfare harms.
African wild dogs are deeply social animals whose welfare is inseparable from pack integrity. The loss of any pack member — to snaring, disease, or vehicle collision — disrupts the cooperative structure that enables hunting success and pup survival. Individual dogs caught in snares experience severe pain, often including limb amputation from wire cutting, and die slowly if not rescued. Disease outbreaks can devastate entire packs, leaving surviving individuals without the social network they need to hunt effectively. Conservation approaches that vaccinate domestic dog reservoir populations against rabies and distemper, and remove snares from wild dog range, address direct welfare harms while supporting population recovery.