Oil spills cause severe acute and chronic welfare harm to marine and coastal wildlife through direct toxicity, hypothermia, and starvation.
Oil spill welfare harm combines acute suffering with chronic toxicological effects. Birds that survive initial oil exposure may die weeks later from organ damage caused by ingested petroleum compounds. Rehabilitation is welfare-positive for individuals but the scale of spill mortality always exceeds rehabilitation capacity. Prevention — through regulation, double-hull requirements, rapid spill response — is the only welfare-scale intervention available.