Wildfowling — the shooting of ducks, geese and waders for sport — raises welfare questions about wounding rates, species selectivity and the welfare of birds living under sustained shooting pressure during winter migration.
Wildfowling welfare concerns centre primarily on wounding rates — the proportion of birds hit by shot that are not killed outright and either die slowly or survive with injuries. A wounding rate of 15 to 30% means that for every three birds killed, one is wounded but not retrieved — a significant welfare cost per bird shot. Lead shot poisoning in waterbirds, addressed by the non-toxic shot requirement over wetlands, was a major welfare improvement. The shooting of declining wader species raises questions about whether sporting use of species in long-term population decline is ethically justifiable. Best practice wildfowling includes species identification, appropriate range limits and thorough dog-assisted retrieval to minimise wounding.