Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centres provide welfare support for injured and orphaned wild animals, but face challenges around sustainability, capacity, and decisions about when to euthanase.
Wildlife rehabilitation centres occupy a critical position in the welfare ecosystem, providing intensive care for animals that would otherwise die from injury or orphaning. But they also face profound welfare decisions: when to continue treatment with uncertain prognosis, whether long-term captivity is preferable to euthanasia for non-releasable animals, and how to assess release fitness. The welfare of the individual animal must be primary — releasing an animal unable to survive in the wild prolongs rather than prevents suffering. Well-trained rehabilitators with access to veterinary support make better welfare decisions. Underfunded centres with inadequate resources face welfare compromises at every stage.