Saiga antelopes have experienced catastrophic mass mortality events from bacterial disease, threatening a species already under pressure from poaching and habitat loss. Each die-off causes suffering on a massive scale.
Saiga welfare during mass die-off events is one of the most dramatic examples of wild animal suffering at scale. Pasteurella septicaemia causes rapid, painful death through systemic infection — affected animals show neurological signs, inability to stand, and haemorrhagic discharge before dying within hours. With 200,000 animals dying in days in 2015, the scale of suffering was almost incomprehensible. The welfare response to mass die-offs is limited by the scale and speed of events — veterinary intervention for wild populations of this size is not feasible. Prevention requires climate action to reduce the frequency of conditions triggering bacterial blooms, and anti-poaching measures to maintain population sex ratios that allow rapid recovery. Each female killed by poaching removes reproductive capacity that the species needs for post-die-off recovery. Monitoring programmes that detect early population stress may allow some anticipatory management.