Caracals are medium-sized wild cats found across Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. Habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict are the primary threats to their welfare and survival.
Caracals face welfare challenges from habitat fragmentation, which forces individuals into smaller territories with insufficient prey, increasing stress and conflict with humans. Persecution by livestock farmers — through shooting, trapping, and poisoning — causes both individual suffering and population-level decline. Non-lethal predator management methods such as livestock guardian dogs, lambing shelters, and improved kraals are effective alternatives that protect both livestock and caracals. Urban caracals increasingly navigate human environments with associated road collision risks. Conservation education programs that shift farmer perceptions from caracals as pests to valued predators that control rodent and small animal populations have shown promise.