Orangutans face severe welfare consequences from palm oil expansion, losing habitat and often being killed or captured as agricultural pests.
Orangutans are among the most cognitively sophisticated non-human animals, and their welfare in the context of palm oil expansion is catastrophic. Adults are killed, mothers shot so infants can be captured and sold as pets, and habitat destruction leaves survivors in fragmented forest patches insufficient for healthy populations. Even survivors in rehabilitation centers face years of difficult recovery from trauma. The connection between consumer choices and orangutan welfare is direct and significant.