The wildlife trade causes enormous welfare harm through capture, transport, and holding conditions that kill the majority of animals involved before they reach destinations.
The welfare harms of the wildlife trade begin at capture and compound through every stage of the supply chain. Wild animals captured for the pet, traditional medicine, or luxury goods trade experience acute fear and physical injury during capture, prolonged stress in crowded transport containers, and death rates that mean most animals do not survive to their destination. The visible welfare harm to survivors understates the true scale: for every animal arriving alive at market, several others died in transit. Individual animals in the wildlife trade experience some of the worst welfare outcomes documented for any class of animals — high mortality, extreme stress, injury, and disease. Addressing the wildlife trade requires both demand reduction and enforcement, with wildlife welfare as a central argument alongside conservation concerns.