Post-release monitoring of rehabilitated wildlife using tracking technology provides evidence for improving release criteria and evaluating whether rehabilitation genuinely improves animal welfare outcomes.
Post-release survival data has transformed understanding of what release criteria are actually welfare-positive. Early assumptions that releasing animals in any condition was better than euthanasia have been replaced by evidence that animals released below threshold condition often die quickly and potentially suffer more than if euthanized in care. Building post-release monitoring into rehabilitation programs is therefore not just scientific data collection but an essential component of welfare-positive practice.