Cassowaries are large, flightless birds essential to tropical rainforest ecosystems. They face welfare threats from habitat loss, vehicle strikes, feeding by humans, and attacks from dogs in areas where their range overlaps with human settlement.
Cassowaries face both acute and chronic welfare threats in their remaining habitat. Vehicle strikes cause traumatic injuries and death; survivors may carry injuries affecting their ability to forage, escape predators, or complete territorial movements. Dog attacks on cassowaries, particularly young birds, cause severe injuries that are often fatal without veterinary intervention. Human feeding creates a welfare trap — fed birds become habituated and bold around roads and settlements, dramatically increasing their collision risk while reducing their capacity for independent foraging. Habitat loss through agricultural clearing compresses populations into smaller areas, increasing human-cassowary conflict. The species' low reproductive rate — males raise just one to three chicks per season — means individual welfare losses translate directly to population-level consequences.