Rewilding projects reintroduce predators and restore ecosystems. They raise important welfare questions about the animals involved in both short and long-term outcomes.
Rewilding projects create genuine welfare dilemmas. Individual animals used in reintroduction programs undergo capture stress, translocation, and release into unfamiliar territories where they may face starvation, injury, or predation before establishing themselves. Some do not survive. Yet successful rewilding can restore ecological relationships that reduce long-term suffering for many species — predator presence regulates prey populations, preventing boom-bust cycles of starvation; diverse ecosystems support more stable prey populations; restored vegetation provides habitat and food security for countless animals. Welfare-conscious rewilding minimizes individual harms during reintroduction while pursuing the long-term benefits of restored ecological function.