The reintroduction of wolves, lynx, bison, and other large mammals to rewilded landscapes creates welfare obligations for monitoring individual animal welfare during establishment and beyond.
The ethical obligations of rewilding include ongoing welfare monitoring of reintroduced individuals, not just population-level metrics. Individual animals experiencing injury, illness, or chronic stress during establishment deserve intervention where feasible and appropriate. The welfare obligations of rewilders parallel those of any party that deliberately places animals in a situation of welfare risk.