Pronghorn undertake the second-longest land migration in the Western Hemisphere, with their welfare during migration shaped by fencing, development, and predation pressure.
Pronghorn welfare during migration is shaped by the accumulated quality of the corridor landscape. Animals that encounter multiple fencing barriers, roads, or development projects must expend additional energy and face higher mortality risk during an already energetically demanding journey. Pronghorn that cannot complete migration due to blocked corridors face winter starvation in inadequate habitat. The welfare cost of fence entanglement — injuries from barbed wire as animals attempt to crawl under bottom strands — is measurable and preventable. Protecting and restoring migration corridors is simultaneously a conservation and welfare intervention: animals that can complete their migration safely arrive at winter range in better condition and survive at higher rates.