African lions live in complex prides with sophisticated social bonds, and their welfare is threatened by habitat loss, prey depletion, human-wildlife conflict, and trophy hunting.
Individual lion welfare varies dramatically by social circumstances. Subordinate males without pride access face dangerous nomadic lives with food insecurity and high injury risk from fights. Cubs are at risk from infanticide during pride takeovers. Injured and diseased individuals may suffer for days or weeks - the communal nature of prides sometimes means injured animals are abandoned. Captured lions in canned hunting operations face profound welfare violations. Snare injuries, which cause slow painful death or disability, are a welfare concern across lion ranges adjacent to subsistence hunting areas.