Northern gannets form the largest seabird colonies in the Atlantic, and their welfare is increasingly affected by fishing gear entanglement, plastic pollution and climate-driven fish scarcity.
Gannets entangled in nest netting die slowly from strangulation as nestmates pull line tighter. Avian influenza causes severe neurological disease with prolonged suffering before death. Birds undertaking extended foraging trips in poor fish years experience energy deficits affecting breeding and personal condition. The welfare of individual birds in colonies of 150,000 represents enormous cumulative suffering during poor environmental conditions.