Amur tigers, the largest tiger subspecies, number around 500 in the wild in the Russian Far East. Their genetic diversity is low after a population bottleneck in the 20th century, creating welfare risks from inbreeding depression.
Inbreeding depression in small populations reduces immune function, making individuals more susceptible to disease. Low genetic diversity means that disease outbreaks can spread rapidly through genetically similar individuals with similar immune profiles. Reproductive disorders associated with inbreeding further limit population growth. The welfare of individual Amur tigers is linked to population-level genetic health in ways that make conservation genetics a welfare concern.