Wild animal translocations: animal welfare risk assessment guidance

1. Background

Codes of practice and other advice about wild animal translocations (see above) refer to adhering to high standards of animal welfare, good practice or having regard for animal welfare. However, few have clearly indicated how this should be evidenced or done, who should do this, or what should happen if welfare is currently or likely to be compromised (see Harington et al., 2013). Some wild animal translocations are reactive (particularly in the case of management translocations) and undertaken to protect individuals from present or impending threats to survival (sometimes referred to as mitigation translocations – such as when a building development threatens a particular species), while other movements of wild animals (as set out above) are for more general ecological or other reasons. In all cases, the welfare of the individual animal is potentially at risk due to its relocation. Additionally, there may be welfare risks to donor communities and to other animals and habitats at the relocation site. There is clearly an appetite for advice in this area to inform practitioners, both in addressing some of the underlying ethical issues involved and in developing practical, repeatable methods of animal welfare evaluation (Harrington et al., 2022; Gaywood et al., 2023).