Illegal and legal trapping of migratory birds remains widespread across migration routes. Understanding the welfare impacts drives better protection for these birds.
Birds caught by trapping methods experience acute fear responses that cause physiological stress sufficient to cause fatal heart failure. Limestick trapping immobilizes birds in sticky resin, causing wing and feather damage in struggling. Mist nets held too long cause dehydration and heat stress. Legal commercial trapping in some regions subjects millions of birds to stress and often death before or during transport. Migratory birds already face exhausting journeys without the additional threat of human capture.