Coatis are social, intelligent members of the raccoon family found from the US Southwest to South America. They face welfare threats from hunting, road mortality, habitat loss, and conflict with humans when they raid crops or campsites.
Coati welfare is threatened by both direct hunting and the indirect consequences of habitat fragmentation and food conditioning. Hunting for bushmeat causes acute suffering through crude killing methods. Animals captured for the pet trade face stress during capture and inappropriate captive conditions — their need for social groups, foraging opportunities, and large territories cannot be met in household settings. Food conditioning at tourist sites creates welfare traps: coatis that regularly receive handouts become dependent, bolder around humans, and at higher risk of vehicle strikes, disease transmission, and management killing. Road mortality in fragmented landscapes affects band members differently — the loss of adult females can disrupt complex social structures with welfare consequences for surviving group members.