The linnet, a small finch with a bright crimson breast in summer, has declined 60% in the UK since 1970. Its welfare depends on seed-rich rough ground, traditional farmland and coastal scrub.
Linnet welfare is tied to the availability of weed seeds in farmland margins and rough ground. Loss of traditional farmland weeds through herbicide use removes the food supply on which linnets depend year-round. Improved grassland that eliminates dandelion, fat hen and chickweed leaves linnets with insufficient seed in summer. The shift from spring to autumn sowing removes the stubble weeds that provided winter food. Heathland linnets depend on gorse and heather seed, plus forays into adjacent arable farmland. Simple agri-environment scheme measures — wild bird seed mixes, uncropped field margins, delayed hedgerow cutting — address linnet welfare directly and at modest cost.