Large carnivores including wolves, lions, and leopards are persecuted by livestock farmers worldwide, with lethal control causing significant welfare and conservation harm to these ecologically critical species.
The conflict between carnivore conservation and livestock protection creates a welfare dilemma with suffering on both sides. Livestock are genuinely harmed by predation, but carnivores killed in retaliation experience the welfare costs of persecution — trapping, shooting, poisoning — and population-level stress from human pressure. Non-lethal coexistence tools have proven effective in reducing conflict while avoiding the welfare costs of lethal control. Supporting herders to implement these tools through technical and financial assistance is among the most effective interventions for both welfare and conservation outcomes.