Clouded leopards are among the least studied wild cats, with illegal trade for skins and bones, and habitat loss in Southeast Asia driving welfare emergencies in both wild and captive animals.
Captive clouded leopards suffer extreme stress without appropriate environmental complexity. They require height, privacy, and low human contact. Wild individuals caught for trade suffer severe capture trauma. Cubs taken for the pet trade show attachment disorder and fail to develop normal behaviour. Welfare-informed captive protocols and trade enforcement are both critical.