Rhinoceros dehorning as a poaching deterrent strategy involves welfare trade-offs that require careful assessment alongside its conservation effectiveness.
Rhino dehorning welfare involves immediate procedural welfare, ongoing welfare impacts of horn absence, and conservation effectiveness that justifies the intervention. The anesthesia required for dehorning carries real mortality risk — experienced teams have dramatically reduced but not eliminated this risk. Whether horn absence affects rhino social welfare is debated — horn use in intraspecific conflict suggests social implications. Conservation effectiveness determines whether the welfare cost is justified. If dehorning demonstrably reduces poaching mortality, the welfare-conservation trade-off may be positive. Current evidence is insufficient for confident conclusion, making program-level evaluation essential.