Snow leopards are Vulnerable to extinction and increasingly coming into conflict with herders whose livestock they prey on, with retaliatory killing being a leading threat to the species.
Snow leopards in conflict zones face the welfare consequences of living at the intersection of wild prey decline and livestock expansion. As wild prey like blue sheep and ibex are reduced by hunting and habitat degradation, snow leopards increasingly take livestock. Retaliatory poisoning using carcasses laced with pesticide causes an agonising death over hours and kills other scavengers including vultures and foxes. Trapping causes injury and prolonged suffering before killing. Poaching for the illegal wildlife trade involves snares, shooting, or live capture followed by trafficking in degrading conditions. The stress of range contraction and human conflict on surviving snow leopards, while harder to measure, is a real welfare concern for animals with naturally low densities and large home range requirements.