Wolves are recovering in parts of Europe and North America following reintroduction efforts, but face ongoing persecution, habitat loss, and conflict with livestock producers that affect their welfare.
Wolf welfare is shaped by their highly social nature: pack stability is fundamental to individual wellbeing. Disruption of pack structure through lethal control — removing alpha individuals — cascades through the entire pack, increasing stress, disrupting cooperative hunting, and leaving pups vulnerable. Dispersing wolves face extreme challenges navigating human-dominated landscapes: roads, hostile landowners, and fragmented habitat corridors create gauntlets of danger. Even successfully established packs in livestock areas face constant threat. Evidence-based coexistence strategies — livestock guardian dogs, range riders, and non-lethal deterrents — protect both wolf welfare and farmer livelihoods more effectively than culling.