Wolverines are wide-ranging mustelids whose welfare is challenged by shrinking snowpack, trapping, and the fragmentation of the boreal and alpine habitats they require.
Wolverine welfare is threatened by a combination of climate change removing snowpack denning habitat and direct mortality from trapping. Climate effects on wolverine welfare are insidious — declining snowpack means females cannot find suitable denning sites, producing failed reproductive attempts and population decline rather than acute individual suffering. Trapping welfare depends entirely on the methods used — quick-kill traps reduce suffering; leg-hold traps cause prolonged distress before checking. Both climate policy and trapping regulation have direct welfare implications for this remarkable species.