Pronghorn are the second-fastest land animal on Earth, yet they cannot jump fences. Understanding how infrastructure affects their welfare shapes conservation planning.
Pronghorn welfare is profoundly shaped by their relationship to human infrastructure — particularly fencing. As animals that evolved to run from predators in open landscapes, they are deeply averse to jumping, making conventional livestock fencing a welfare barrier that fragments their range and blocks access to seasonal forage. Animals unable to reach winter range or water during drought periods experience starvation and dehydration. Fence modification — raising the lowest rail to at least 18 inches and keeping the top rail below 42 inches — is a low-cost intervention that dramatically improves pronghorn passage. The conservation of intact pronghorn migration corridors is simultaneously a welfare and ecological priority: intact migrations allow animals to reach the forage and water sources that support condition and survival across the seasonal cycle.