Proposals to reintroduce grey wolves to Scotland and Wales are gaining momentum, with both ecological and welfare arguments informing the debate.
Wolf reintroduction would create both welfare costs and benefits. The reintroduced animals would need to establish territories in unfamiliar landscapes, potentially experiencing stress and conflict during establishment. Prey animals — primarily red deer and sheep — would be hunted, experiencing predation-related suffering. But the net welfare effects across the wider ecosystem would be positive: deer population regulation by wolves reduces the suffering caused by starvation and overgrazing; ecosystem restoration improves habitat quality for hundreds of species; and the wolves themselves would live as apex predators in appropriate natural conditions rather than in captivity.