Raptors remain subject to illegal persecution through shooting, poisoning, and nest destruction in some areas; individual welfare harm from persecution is significant alongside population conservation impacts.
Raptor persecution causes direct welfare harm through the acute suffering of poisoning, shooting, and trap injuries experienced by individual birds. Poisoning with carbofuran or other banned substances causes convulsions and prolonged death. The welfare significance of this persecution deserves prominence alongside its population conservation significance — the individual birds that suffer are not simply conservation statistics but animals experiencing acute pain and distress. Evidence-based prosecution and cultural change in land management are both required to address this welfare and conservation issue.