Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation is a distributed network of thousands of licensed individuals and organizations saving millions of injured wild animals annually.
Wildlife rehabilitation welfare quality depends critically on rehabilitator training and species knowledge. Well-trained rehabilitators minimize human imprinting, provide species-appropriate nutrition and housing, and make evidence-based release decisions. Under-resourced or undertrained operators may keep animals in prolonged inappropriate care or release animals that cannot survive. Supporting the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association education programs and local licensed operators improves welfare standards across the network.