The objection
"Helping wild animals violates their freedom."
Actually, it's the opposite
An animal with a serious disease, starving, or trapped in a flood isn't free to do what it wants. It's held back by its suffering. Helping it increases its freedom to live and do what's good for it.
What is freedom?
The objection usually measures freedom by how much space an animal has to move around in. But for a being that can feel, freedom is more than space. It's being able to do what's good for you.
That doesn't mean zoos are good: in a zoo, animals often can't do what's good for them.
What if the animal runs away from help?
Many animals run away when we try to rescue them from fires or vaccinate them. Does that show they'd rather be free than be helped?
Not necessarily. The animal runs because it's scared and doesn't understand what's going on, not because it would rather burn to death. A little kid might also cry and run from a shot, and that doesn't mean vaccinating the kid goes against their good.
In short
- Helping a suffering animal increases its freedom.
- Freedom isn't just having space; it's being able to do what's good for you.
- Running away out of fear doesn't show the animal would rather suffer.