Brown bears are recovering across parts of Europe after centuries of persecution. Managing their return alongside human communities requires welfare-sensitive conflict prevention strategies.
European brown bear welfare exists at the intersection of conservation success and human-wildlife conflict. Bears venturing into villages for food attract media attention and political pressure for lethal management. In Romania, a policy allowing bears deemed dangerous to be shot has been controversially implemented, with welfare concerns about wounded bears not immediately found and about targeting bears at garbage dumps rather than addressing food access drivers. Non-lethal conflict prevention — electric fencing for beehives and livestock, bear-proof waste management, guard animals — is effective and avoids killing. Bears with problem behaviors can be aversively conditioned using rubber bullets or hazing to reinforce fear of humans. Translocation of individual problem bears is used but has welfare costs and variable success rates. Coexistence requires long-term community investment rather than quick lethal solutions.