Human influence extends across the globe, fromthe tallestmountains to the deep bottom
of the oceans. There is a growing call for nature to be protected from the negative
impacts of human activity (particularly intensive agriculture); so-called “land sparing”.
A relatively new approach is “rewilding”, defined as the restoration of self-sustaining
and complex ecosystems, with interlinked ecological processes that promote and
support one another while minimising or gradually reducing human intervention. The
key theoretical basis of rewilding is to return ecosystems to a “natural” or “self-willed”
state with trophic complexity, dispersal (and connectivity) and stochastic disturbance
in place. However, this is constrained by context-specific factors whereby it may not
be possible to restore the native species that formed part of the trophic structure of
the ecosystem if they are extinct (e.g., mammoths, Mammuthus spp., aurochs, Bos
primigenius); and, populations/communities of native herbivores/predators may not be
able to survive or be acceptable to the public in small scale rewilding projects close to
areas of high human density. Therefore, the restoration of natural trophic complexity and
disturbance regimes within rewilding projects requires careful consideration if the broader
conservation needs of society are to be met. In some circumstances, managers will
require a more flexible deliberate approach to intervening in rewilding projects using the
range of tools in their toolbox (e.g., controlled burning regimes; using domestic livestock
to replicate the impacts of extinct herbivore species), even if this is only in the early stages
of the rewilding process. If this approach is adopted, then larger areas can be given over
to conservation, because of the potential broader benefits to society from these spaces
and the engagement of farmers in practises that are closer to their traditions. We provide
examples, primarily European, where domestic and semi-domestic livestock are used by
managers as part of their rewilding toolbox. Here managers have looked at the broader
phenotype of livestock species as to their suitability in different rewilding systems. We
assess whether there are ways of using livestock in these systems for conservation,
economic (e.g., branded or certified livestock products) and cultural gains
