Great apes in the wild face threats that cause both conservation and individual welfare harm. Integrated approaches address both dimensions simultaneously.
Wild great ape welfare exists within their complex social lives - chimpanzees and bonobos living in stable communities with lifelong relationships, territory, and cultural transmission have rich welfare dimensions that captivity cannot replicate. The threats to wild great apes create individual welfare harm alongside conservation harm: apes killed for bushmeat die violently, and their social groups experience disruption equivalent to the death of a close family member for human social groups. Orphaned apes rescued from bushmeat markets face years of rehabilitation with uncertain prospects for community integration. Ecotourism, while providing conservation revenue, creates disease transmission risks (great apes are susceptible to human respiratory viruses) and behavioral changes in habituated groups. The welfare-optimal approach is integrated conservation that protects habitat, reduces hunting, and supports sanctuaries when direct intervention is necessary.