European and American bison are conservation success stories, but managing rewilded populations while minimizing welfare harm from translocation, handling, and human-wildlife conflict requires careful planning.
Bison welfare in rewilding programs must balance the population management needs of restoration ecology with the welfare of individual animals during handling and translocation. Bison are large, powerful, and highly reactive animals for whom capture and transport is extremely stressful. Minimizing handling time, using low-stress capture methods, and ensuring translocation health protocols are rigorous reduces welfare harm during these necessary management events. Once established in suitable habitat, rewilded bison have high potential welfare as they express natural ranging, social, and foraging behaviors. Human-wildlife conflict management, including preventing bison from accessing agricultural land and managing bull aggression during rut, requires planning that protects both bison welfare and community safety.