Wolf reintroduction programs restore ecosystem balance but create livestock predation conflicts. Coexistence strategies can reduce both livestock losses and wolf persecution.
Wolf-livestock conflict involves welfare considerations for multiple parties: wolves killed in lethal control, livestock attacked and killed by wolves, and the long-term welfare of wolf populations facing persecution. A sheep killed by wolves dies in a terrifying and painful predation event. A wolf killed in retaliation trapping or shooting also dies. From a welfare perspective, preventing attacks through non-lethal coexistence strategies benefits both prey animals and wolves. The welfare of individual livestock killed in attacks, while real and serious, must be weighed against the welfare of wild wolf populations whose long-term viability depends on coexistence. Non-lethal deterrents that prevent attacks address welfare concerns on both sides of the conflict simultaneously.