Tigers face welfare threats in both wild contexts and captive breeding farms in Asia that supply traditional medicine markets. The welfare and conservation cases are deeply intertwined.
Tiger welfare exists in a complex landscape of captive farms, tourist facilities, genuine sanctuaries, and wild protection programs. Captive tiger farms where animals are bred for body part harvest represent some of the worst welfare conditions for large felids anywhere - animals kept in small concrete pens waiting to be killed for bone wine production. Tourist facilities that use tiger cubs for selfie experiences create welfare harms through early maternal separation, chronic stress from handling, and eventually the fate of aged tigers. Wild tigers face different welfare threats: territorial pressure, prey depletion, and the constant stress of living in increasingly fragmented habitats.