Wildlife Rehabilitation: Welfare Principles and Best Practice

Wildlife rehabilitation rescues and treats injured wild animals but welfare standards vary enormously between centres.

Key Facts

Around 300 wildlife rehabilitation centres operate in the UK
The British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council provides standards and training for practitioners
Release success rates vary significantly between species and conditions
Hand rearing of wild birds and mammals can impair survival skills needed for wild life
Animals unsuitable for release may need long-term captive care raising welfare concerns

Welfare Considerations

Wildlife rehabilitation centres operate under enormous pressure with limited resources. Welfare during treatment depends on appropriate housing, handling, and medical care. Hand-rearing by humans can cause imprinting that prevents wild release. Prolonged hospitalisation in sterile environments causes stress. The decision to euthanise versus maintain unreleasable animals in captivity raises difficult welfare judgements. Release of insufficiently recovered animals causes preventable post-release mortality.

What You Can Do

Support your local wildlife rehabilitation centre with donations and volunteering
Contact trained rehabilitators rather than attempting to care for injured wildlife yourself
Leave apparently healthy young animals alone as parents are usually nearby
Support BWRC training schemes that improve welfare standards in rehabilitation
Donate to the RSPCA wildlife casualty centres that provide professional treatment