The Iberian wolf has partially recovered across the Iberian Peninsula after near-extinction. Ongoing conflict with livestock farmers, illegal poisoning, and snaring create significant individual welfare harms within a recovering population.
Iberian wolf welfare is heavily shaped by illegal persecution. Carbofuran poisoning causes agonising death through cholinesterase inhibition — neurological collapse, respiratory failure, and seizures. Snares cause prolonged suffering over hours to days before death. These welfare harms occur to individual animals within a still-fragile recovering population, making each death significant both ecologically and ethically. The most effective welfare interventions combine legal enforcement against poisoning with practical livestock protection (guardian dogs, electric fencing, herder presence) and fair, prompt compensation for verified livestock losses. Guardian dog programmes using Mastins and Castro Laboreiros have documented effectiveness in reducing depredation and retaliatory killing. Coexistence requires economic fairness to farmers alongside firm enforcement — approaches that ignore either fail long-term.