American bison were reduced from 60 million to fewer than 1,000 by the late 19th century. Today's conservation recovery programme raises important questions about welfare in managed herds and the balance between conservation and wild behaviour.
Bison welfare in conservation herds exists in tension between the animals' need for space and natural behaviour and the practical constraints of managed landscapes. Bison require large territories for seasonal grazing movement, and enclosed herds that cannot migrate develop overgrazing pressure requiring active management. Culling — the periodic removal of animals to maintain herd density — is the primary welfare intervention in conservation herds, and its humaneness depends entirely on method and implementation. Live capture for genetic programme management involves significant handling stress, as bison are not domesticated and react strongly to human presence. In larger restoration landscapes like the American Prairie Reserve, bison can express more natural movement and social behaviour, producing better welfare outcomes. The reintroduction of bison to European landscapes — including in Poland, Romania, and the Netherlands — represents one of the most significant rewilding achievements in conservation history.