The Amur tiger has recovered from near-extinction through intensive conservation efforts, but individual tigers still face poaching, territory conflicts, and human encroachment that create welfare harms.
Individual Amur tiger welfare exists within the context of a remarkable conservation recovery story. Tigers killed by poachers often die slowly from firearm wounds or trap injuries. Orphaned cubs require years of care before any possibility of release, and many captive-raised tigers cannot be successfully released. The snare infrastructure set for ungulate prey incidentally traps tigers, causing injuries that may be non-lethal but permanently impair hunting capability. Maintaining the enforcement infrastructure that protected tigers through their recovery phase is as welfare-critical as the initial protection campaigns.