European and American bison restoration projects are returning large herbivores to landscapes where they were absent for centuries, creating both welfare opportunities and challenges.
Bison restoration represents one of the most ambitious rewilding programs globally, with genuine welfare benefits for animals able to live in natural social groups across large landscapes. However, restored populations face challenges: genetic bottlenecks create disease susceptibility, range restrictions compared to historical territories limit natural movement, and road infrastructure creates collision hazards. Managing for welfare in restored bison populations requires landscape-scale thinking — sufficient range, genetic exchange between herds, and infrastructure designed to accommodate large-bodied animals moving freely.