Injured raptors require specialized rehabilitation, with welfare considerations at every stage from intake through release or placement.
Raptor rehabilitation involves significant welfare trade-offs. Captivity causes stress in wild birds regardless of care quality, but the alternative — death from untreated injury — is clearly worse. Minimizing handling through quiet, low-disturbance husbandry, housing in flight enclosures that allow wing-conditioning, and using food delivery methods that maintain natural hunting motivation are all welfare priorities. Lead poisoning rehabilitation is particularly challenging because neurological damage is often severe and irreversible. The decision about when to pursue euthanasia rather than continued treatment requires careful, welfare-centered judgment from experienced rehabilitators.