The swift fox (Vulpes velox) was nearly extirpated from Canada by the 1930s through poisoning campaigns targeting wolves and coyotes. A binational recovery program involving captive breeding and release has established a small but growing Canadian population, with ongoing welfare challenges in reintroduced individuals.
Reintroduced swift foxes face acute welfare challenges during the adaptation from captive rearing to wild life. Finding dens, learning predator avoidance, and establishing territories are skills not developed in captivity. Mange outbreaks in isolated populations cause severe pruritus and debilitation, and treatment through darting and medication is logistically challenging across sparse Great Plains populations. Coyote attacks cause traumatic injury and death. Post-release monitoring via radio-telemetry identifies injured or failing individuals for potential retrieval and rehabilitation. The welfare success of the program is measured in establishing self-sustaining populations capable of normal behaviour and reproduction.