There is a pretty common misconception that wild animals are “free” and somehow happy. The truth is that life is hard for every wild animal. The reason it is wonderful to see one experiencing joy, for instance a fox playing, is that such moments are a respite from cold and hunger and disease and predation. And it is worth mentioning that every wild animal dies horribly.
People often talk as though some individual animal’s welfare is the reason for conservation. But it is not. And while I am exactly the person who rescues a bird, aside from my petty sentiments on the matter, the reason for helping the animal and returning it to the wild is NOT about its fulfillment. It is about conservation of an ecosystem on which we all depend.
It is the ecosystem that we NEED to conserve. It is the protection of diversity and ecosystem health that enables the proper functioning of all the ecosystem services without which we would be screwed.
And it is regrettable that so many people who think they are “animal lovers” continually advocate for stupid ideas, like protecting destructive invasive species like cats and rats. They think they are on the good-guy team, but they are not.
And perhaps, since so many people who feel strongly about animal welfare and conservation, are so misguided on this subject, we ought to teach more about conservation as part of our biology curriculum.