I agree totally about the cost/benefit of the study vs. the quality of life for the wolf. That is one reason I have not gone out and gotten a wolf in the last 18 or so years I have wanted to do so. I want to be 100% sure I can committ totally to the animal and it's needs - for it's entire life.
On a personal level I see no difference between a refuge and any other "captive" situation like a zoo. No, it isn't like being in the wild. On the flipside, as a wildlife rehabber, many higher-intelligence animals, once raised with humans, cannot be successfully released back into the wild, so this animal would have to stay in a captive environment.
As an ethologist, part of my study would be enriching the animal's environment to preserve a happy animal. I do that with all of my own companion animals, too.
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