How human-wolf coexistence programs protect wolf welfare while reducing livestock conflict.
Wolf welfare in recovering populations is threatened primarily by human retaliation for livestock losses. Individual wolves are shot, poisoned, and trapped in numbers that can destabilize pack structures and slow population recovery. Welfare-positive coexistence programs address the economic and cultural drivers of conflict rather than simply enforcing protection laws. Farmers who receive compensation and effective livestock protection tools have less incentive for retaliatory killing, while wolves who avoid livestock develop positive long-term habits. The welfare goal is wolf populations living in landscapes where coexistence is economically and socially viable for human neighbors.