Brown bears in Europe and North America face welfare threats from persecution, habitat fragmentation, and human-wildlife conflict. Coexistence strategies reduce conflict and welfare harm.
Brown bear welfare in human-dominated landscapes is primarily threatened by lethal control in response to livestock depredation. Bears killed in conflict situations experience obvious welfare harm, but the threat of persecution also causes stress through reduced use of human-proximate habitat. Non-lethal deterrence combined with compensation schemes for livestock losses is both more welfare-positive and more effective.