Saiga antelopes have experienced catastrophic mass mortality events from disease, highlighting the fragility of this ancient species and the welfare implications of bacterial epidemics.
The 2015 mass saiga die-off represents one of the most dramatic wildlife welfare events in recent history - over 200,000 individual animals dying in acute respiratory distress within three weeks. The suffering associated with Pasteurella multocida septicemia includes fever, difficulty breathing, and rapid system failure. Mass mortality events of this scale cause welfare harm at a scale that is difficult to comprehend. The climate-driven weather instability that enabled bacterial virulence suggests that such events may increase in frequency as climate change alters temperature and humidity patterns across saiga range. Individual saiga welfare is affected by the chronic stress of poaching pressure, habitat loss, and the disruption of migration routes by infrastructure. Conservation programs that reduce poaching and protect migration corridors improve population resilience to mass mortality events.