Peregrine falcons recovered from near-extinction caused by DDT and are now nesting successfully in many cities. Their welfare depends on nest site protection and continued freedom from persecution.
Peregrine welfare recovery is one of the clearest demonstrations that regulatory action can transform animal welfare outcomes. DDT ban enabled population recovery that no direct intervention could have achieved. Urban peregrines that have established territories on city buildings experience good welfare when undisturbed — hunting abundant feral pigeons, raising young in elevated inaccessible sites, and ranging widely through urban airspace. The welfare threats that remain — persecution and egg collecting — are criminal and entirely preventable.