Urban environments host diverse wildlife adapted to city life. Coexistence approaches that prioritize animal welfare rather than removal produce better outcomes for both humans and animals.
Urban wildlife welfare intersects with human tolerance in complex ways. Animals that survive in urban environments often do so through behavioral adaptations that bring them into contact with humans - adaptations that then trigger conflict and lethal removal. The welfare cost of urban wildlife conflicts includes stress from harassment and pursuit, injuries from deterrent methods, and death through culling. Non-lethal management approaches generally produce better welfare outcomes - exclusion from buildings is preferable to trapping and euthanizing resident animals. The urban wildlife welfare challenge requires treating city wildlife as a legitimate constituency with welfare interests, rather than problems to be eliminated.