Wild tortoises face welfare threats from habitat loss, road mortality, illegal collection for the pet trade, and climate change altering the thermal environments they depend on for thermoregulation.
Wild tortoises in increasingly degraded and warming habitats face chronic welfare challenges from thermal stress, food scarcity, and road mortality. Tortoises hit by vehicles suffer crush injuries that are often survived but result in permanent disability. Egg incubation temperature skewing toward female-only clutches threatens long-term population viability in ways that affect individual welfare through reproductive failure. Protecting remaining tortoise habitat, installing road crossing infrastructure, and eliminating illegal collection are the most impactful welfare interventions available.