The return of bison to North American prairies through rewilding programs has significant welfare benefits for individual animals and broader ecological outcomes for thousands of species.
Bison welfare is fundamentally tied to ecological context. Animals on large, diverse prairie reserves with intact social structures and room for seasonal movement show the behavioral repertoire and physiological health characteristic of wild populations. Confined bison in ranch settings, while not necessarily suffering acutely, lack the welfare richness of ecological restoration contexts. Supporting prairie rewilding programs is therefore simultaneously a welfare and conservation intervention of high impact.