Wildlife Corridors and Animal Movement Welfare

Wildlife corridors allow animals to move between habitat fragments, reducing the suffering and mortality caused by habitat fragmentation.

Key Facts

Habitat fragmentation now affects over 70% of the world remaining forests with patches averaging less than 1 km2 in size
Wildlife crossing structures on major highways have reduced wildlife-vehicle collision mortality by 80-90% where implemented
The I-10 wildlife crossing under construction in California will span 200 feet to connect mountain lion populations across a major highway
Genetic isolation from fragmentation causes inbreeding depression that increases disease susceptibility and reduces reproductive fitness
Connectivity corridors allow range expansion in response to climate change, critical for species tracking suitable habitat
Camera trap surveys show that wildlife use corridors actively, with hundreds of species documented using crossing structures
The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative maintains a 3,200 km connectivity corridor for large carnivores across North America

Welfare Considerations

Habitat fragmentation causes welfare harms to individual animals through multiple pathways. Animals attempting to cross roads and other barriers suffer high mortality from vehicle strikes, electrocution on power lines, and fence entanglement. Those that survive fragmentation but cannot disperse experience the physiological and behavioral welfare impacts of inbreeding, reduced genetic diversity, and resource competition from overcrowding within isolated patches. Wildlife corridors reduce these welfare harms by enabling movement between patches for feeding, breeding, and seasonal range changes. The welfare benefits of crossing structures are measurable and immediate: cameras on the Banff wildlife crossings in Canada document thousands of animal crossings annually by grizzly bears, wolves, elk, and dozens of other species that would otherwise risk lethal road crossing attempts. Corridor investment addresses welfare at the population level in ways that individual animal rescue cannot.

What You Can Do

Support wildlife crossing infrastructure funding in highway construction and renovation projects in your region
Advocate for wildlife-friendly fencing standards that allow passage of deer, pronghorn, and other fence-susceptible species
Support land trust conservation easements that protect and connect private land between public conservation areas
Reduce driving speed in wildlife crossing zones particularly at dawn and dusk when wildlife movement is highest