Water voles have been lost from over 90% of sites where they were recorded in the 1970s. Reintroduction programmes are rebuilding populations, but welfare during capture, translocation and release requires careful management.
Water voles captured for reintroduction experience acute stress from handling, transport and introduction to unfamiliar habitat. Even well-managed capture programmes cause short-term cortisol elevation and behavioural disruption. Released animals must rapidly locate suitable burrow sites, establish territories and avoid novel predators in unfamiliar landscapes. High early mortality after release is expected but reflects the welfare costs borne by individual animals in service of population recovery. Careful selection of release sites with established burrow systems, appropriate food plants and mink-free status reduces early mortality and the welfare costs of failed establishment.