Elephants raiding crops bring them into deadly conflict with farming communities. Finding humane coexistence strategies protects both human livelihoods and elephant welfare and survival.
Elephants engaged in crop raiding face acute welfare risks — retaliatory shooting, snaring, and poisoning. Non-lethal deterrents themselves can cause distress and injury. Beyond direct harm, conflict zones fragment elephant movement, compress ranges, and disrupt social groups. A welfare-centred approach requires solutions that address farmer needs without treating elephants as expendable nuisances — integrating economic incentives, effective deterrents, and landscape planning.