Elephant crop raiding triggers retaliatory killing that is a leading cause of elephant mortality — welfare-positive coexistence tools protect both elephants and human livelihoods.
Elephant welfare in human-dominated landscapes depends critically on coexistence solutions that protect human livelihoods while reducing retaliatory killing. The welfare case is straightforward: every non-lethal deterrence installation that prevents a retaliatory killing protects an animal with documented high cognitive and emotional complexity. The coexistence approach also addresses the source of conflict — if farmers have effective non-lethal tools and compensation when tools fail, the motivation for retaliation decreases. The most successful programs combine multiple deterrence methods with community economic benefit (honey income from beehive fences, involvement in monitoring programs) that aligns local interest with elephant welfare. Welfare organizations working on elephant-human conflict should prioritize community-centered coexistence over purely elephant-focused approaches.