Welfare considerations specific to African forest elephants, a distinct species facing severe poaching and habitat loss threats.
Forest elephant welfare is critically threatened by ivory poaching that causes direct individual suffering — gunshot wounds, snare injuries, and witnessed family member deaths — alongside population-level trauma. Research on elephant psychology suggests that populations experiencing high poaching pressure show elevated stress hormones and abnormal social behavior even in individuals that have not been directly targeted, indicating population-wide psychological welfare impacts. Conservation through anti-poaching enforcement, ivory trade elimination, and habitat protection simultaneously addresses individual and population welfare.