Wildlife rehabilitation treats injured and orphaned wild animals with the goal of releasing them back to the wild. Welfare standards in rehabilitation affect both the animals treated and their prospects after release.
Wildlife rehabilitation represents a genuine welfare improvement for many animals, but the field also involves unavoidable welfare costs. Every handled animal experiences significant stress, even with the best techniques. The key welfare question is whether the long-term benefit of successful rehabilitation and release outweighs the short-term stress of the process. For some species and injuries, the answer is clearly yes. For others - particularly highly stressed species with poor rehabilitation outcomes or conditions incompatible with wild life - prompt euthanasia may be the higher-welfare choice.