Evidence-based wildlife rehabilitation follows protocols that minimise stress during captive care, maximise the probability of successful release and maintain the wildness of animals needed for post-release survival.
High-quality wildlife rehabilitation follows an evidence-based pathway from admission through treatment and conditioning to release monitoring. Every stage has welfare implications. Triage and assessment on admission determines whether rehabilitation is welfare-positive or whether euthanasia is more humane for animals with non-survivable injuries. Treatment protocols that minimise handling and human contact preserve wildness that is essential for post-release survival. Soft release approaches that allow gradual reintroduction to wild conditions reduce the welfare stress of abrupt transition from captive to wild environments. Post-release monitoring provides the welfare data needed to evaluate whether rehabilitation is succeeding in producing animals with adequate welfare in the wild.