The red kite recovery is one of conservation's greatest success stories. From near-extinction in the UK, populations have grown to over 10,000 birds. Ongoing threats include illegal poisoning and lead exposure.
Red kites face ongoing welfare threats despite population recovery. Illegal poisoning - whether through rodenticide secondary poisoning or deliberate baiting - causes prolonged, painful death. Lead poisoning from ingesting lead shot in scavenged game carcasses causes neurological damage, weakness, and eventual death. Persecution on some grouse moors continues. Each poisoning death causes significant acute suffering. Population monitoring allows welfare harms to be documented and prosecuted.