African wild dogs are among Africa's most endangered large carnivores, and conservation efforts must balance population recovery with the welfare of individually monitored and managed animals.
African wild dog conservation requires intense individual monitoring that carries inherent welfare costs. Capture for collaring, disease screening, and vaccination causes acute stress and very occasionally mortality. These costs must be weighed against the population-level benefits of understanding pack dynamics, detecting disease early, and enabling conflict mitigation. Welfare-conscious conservation programmes use the least invasive monitoring methods available and minimise unnecessary interventions. Addressing the root causes of human-wildlife conflict through compensation and coexistence programmes reduces illegal killing and the welfare costs of reactive management.