Understanding pain in wild animals is fundamental to wildlife welfare — research into nociception, consciousness, and pain expression informs how we evaluate and address wild animal suffering.
Wild animal pain research is a young but rapidly developing field that is transforming how wildlife welfare is understood and managed. The default assumption that wild animals do not require pain management during rehabilitation — or that they suffer less than domestic animals — is being challenged by accumulating evidence that pain physiology is conserved across vertebrate taxa. Providing analgesia to injured wildlife during rehabilitation represents one of the most direct welfare improvements available to wildlife care organisations, with growing evidence supporting its safe and beneficial use.