The Scottish wildcat reintroduction programme aims to establish wild-living populations of purebred wildcats, raising welfare considerations about captive breeding and release protocols.
Wildcat reintroduction welfare encompasses both captive breeding and release phases. Wildcats in captive settings require large enclosures with natural substrate and minimal human exposure to maintain wild behaviour. Socialisation to humans compromises post-release survival. Collar fitting for monitoring involves stressful handling and carries risks of collar-related injuries. Released wildcats face the stress of establishing territories in unfamiliar habitat, competition from feral cats, and predation risk. Monitoring intensity must balance the welfare need to identify animals in distress with the welfare cost of surveillance disturbance. Early post-release mortality is expected and represents both a welfare and conservation challenge.