Barn owl populations have declined dramatically due to habitat loss, and nest box provision combined with habitat management is an effective welfare-positive conservation tool.
Barn owl welfare is directly connected to habitat quality and prey availability. An owl that cannot find sufficient voles to maintain body weight through winter experiences severe nutritional stress, progressive weakness and ultimately starvation — a prolonged welfare harm. Nest box provision addresses the additional constraint of nesting site availability in modern agricultural landscapes where old buildings and hollow trees have been removed. Welfare-conscious barn owl support combines nest boxes with habitat creation: rough grass field margins, uncultivated headlands and beetle banks providing the vole population density that owls require. Preventing rodenticide poisoning through advocacy and farmer education addresses the most significant preventable welfare cause of adult barn owl mortality.