Migratory birds face welfare threats not only in their breeding and wintering grounds but throughout their journeys, where illegal hunting, collisions, and habitat loss cause significant mortality.
Birds caught by lime sticks suffer extreme distress and injury as they struggle to escape, and many die from exhaustion or are killed by trappers. Birds completing long-distance migrations arrive in poor body condition vulnerable to weather events and food scarcity. Each migratory death represents the loss of an individual that has invested enormous energy in its journey. Protecting key stopover sites and reducing illegal killing are priority welfare interventions.