Rewilding programs reintroduce predators and keystone species to restore ecosystem function, with complex welfare implications.
Rewilding creates complex welfare trade-offs. Restored predator populations cause prey animals to be killed through predation, often prolonged. At the same time, rewilded ecosystems provide vastly richer habitat for far more animals than degraded landscapes. The compassionate conservation challenge is to acknowledge that predation involves animal suffering while also recognizing that ecosystem restoration benefits animal welfare at population and ecosystem scale.