Rewilding programs restore ecological function by reintroducing apex predators and keystone species, but the welfare of reintroduced animals and prey species requires careful consideration.
Rewilding creates genuine welfare trade-offs that deserve honest acknowledgment. Reintroduced predators may struggle to find adequate prey, establish territory, or avoid human conflict — all sources of welfare harm to individual animals. Prey populations face increased predation following predator reintroduction; individual prey animals die in ways that, however ecologically valuable, involve suffering. Yet the welfare calculus favors rewilding: restored ecosystems support larger, more resilient wildlife populations over time, with lower rates of the starvation, disease, and population crash that accompany ecological degradation. The welfare-optimal approach to rewilding maximizes individual reintroduction success through behavioral conditioning and monitoring, while accepting that ecological restoration inherently involves predation and natural mortality.