The ethics and efficacy of wild mammal rehabilitation require honest evaluation of outcomes and careful decision-making about which animals benefit from intervention.
Wildlife rehabilitation presents genuine welfare dilemmas that require honest prognosis-based decision-making rather than default treatment of all admitted animals. The welfare harm of prolonged captive rehabilitation that ends in death or permanent disability - without achieving functional release - may exceed the welfare benefit of the treatment provided. Conversely, animals with good release prognosis achieve significant welfare benefit from successful rehabilitation and return to wild life. Developing clear criteria for release prognosis, being willing to recommend humane euthanasia for animals with poor outcomes, and preventing unnecessary collection of wildlife that does not require rescue are all welfare-positive practices. Supporting well-resourced, evidence-based rehabilitation organizations provides better welfare outcomes than scattered uncoordinated individual effort.