African lion populations have halved in 25 years due to habitat loss and human conflict. The welfare of lions — and their prey — in increasingly fragmented landscapes is a complex conservation challenge.
African lion welfare is inextricably linked to prey availability and the dynamics of human-wildlife coexistence. Lions in prey-depleted areas are chronically food-stressed, hunting smaller, lower-energy prey and increasingly targeting livestock. This creates a cycle of welfare harm: hungry lions take livestock, triggering retaliatory poisoning that kills not only the targeted lion but often scavengers including vultures over wide areas. Poisoning causes prolonged and agonising death. Snares set for bushmeat accidentally capture lions causing severe limb injuries. Trophy hunting involves killing for non-subsistence purposes — the welfare ethics are contested. Cubs killed during infanticide following pride takeovers represent natural but welfare-significant harm occurring more frequently in fragmented populations where male turnover is higher.