Spotted hyenas are highly intelligent, matriarchal carnivores that face persecution based on misunderstanding and real conflict with livestock keepers across sub-Saharan Africa.
Hyena welfare suffers both from direct persecution and from the social cascade effects of clan disruption. Hyenas killed by ranchers, snared as bycatch, and poisoned for competition with domestic dogs cause welfare harm individually and socially — disrupted clans have reduced pup survival and territorial instability. The deep misunderstanding of hyena behavior and ecology drives much of this persecution. Educational campaigns that correct misconceptions about hyenas, combined with coexistence programs that address livestock predation, reduce the conflict-driven welfare costs for individual animals and their social groups.