Brucellosis management in wild bison creates a welfare conflict between disease control requirements and the behavioral and physiological needs of wild animals subjected to capture and testing.
Bison capture and management for brucellosis testing imposes acute welfare costs on wild animals. Helicopter hazing causes panic-flight responses and can separate cows from calves. Capture facilities are stressful environments for large, wild ungulates unhabituated to human contact. The justification for these welfare costs - livestock brucellosis risk - is disputed by wildlife advocates who note the lack of documented cattle cases from wild bison. The welfare calculus would favor expanded wild bison range with reduced management intensity if brucellosis risk assessments are revised.