Bison farming is growing in North America but welfare challenges from their wild behavioral nature, difficult handling, and genetic management require careful attention.
Bison welfare differs fundamentally from cattle welfare because bison have not undergone the same multi-millennial domestication process — they retain behavioral responses, stress physiology, and social needs that are closer to wild ungulates. Handling systems designed for cattle frequently cause intense stress and injury when used for bison. Investment in low-stress facilities including curved alleys, solid sides, and minimal visual distraction reduces handling stress significantly. Range systems that allow natural herd behavior, long-distance movement, and social stability produce bison with better welfare outcomes than intensive feedlot operations. The welfare and conservation interests converge in maintaining bison in large, genetically diverse herds on appropriate range habitat where they can express the full repertoire of natural behavior.