Rewilding — restoring ecological processes through species reintroductions and land management — has significant welfare implications for reintroduced animals and prey species.
Rewilding creates complex welfare trade-offs. Translocated animals face acute translocation stress and must establish territories in unfamiliar environments with high mortality risk. Prey species killed by reintroduced predators experience natural predation welfare harms, but population-level regulation may improve average welfare by preventing starvation. Beaver reintroductions cause minimal welfare harm and major ecological benefit. Each reintroduction requires species-specific welfare assessment balancing individual and population outcomes.