Water voles have undergone one of the most dramatic population declines of any British mammal, and restoration efforts raise welfare questions about translocation, predator management and habitat quality.
Water vole conservation and welfare intersect in the translocation and predator management programmes essential for population recovery. Individual water voles subjected to translocation experience capture stress, handling, transport and release into unfamiliar territory — welfare costs that must be justified by the conservation benefit. Translocation protocols that minimise handling time, use appropriate anaesthesia where needed and release into well-prepared habitat reduce but cannot eliminate these welfare costs. Ongoing mink control to protect restored populations uses traps that must meet welfare standards for non-target capture and rapid checking. The conservation-welfare integration required for water vole recovery is achievable and increasingly embedded in best practice guidelines.