Tasmanian devils are threatened by a unique transmissible cancer. Insurance populations and vaccine development are central to recovery planning for this iconic marsupial.
Tasmanian devil welfare is dominated by the welfare impact of DFTD, which causes grotesque facial and mouth tumors that prevent normal feeding, leading to starvation. The disease causes profound suffering and death over weeks to months from initial tumor development. Insurance population management for disease-free individuals requires careful disease surveillance and isolation from DFTD-affected animals. Reintroduction of disease-free individuals to mainland Australia allows population establishment while wild Tasmanian populations continue to be affected. Vaccine development offers hope for long-term disease management but remains experimental. Individual welfare decisions for DFTD-affected animals involve difficult trade-offs between euthanizing suffering individuals and allowing natural progression for research purposes.