The goosander is a large, saw-billed duck that has expanded southward through Britain since the 1970s, creating controversy with salmon and trout fishery owners while playing a legitimate ecological role in river ecosystems.
Goosander welfare is primarily threatened by illegal persecution from fishery owners who perceive them as competitors for game fish. Licensed culling programs have been shown in multiple studies to have minimal effect on salmon smolt survival but continue to be used. Individual birds can be badly injured and not killed cleanly by unlicensed shooting. The welfare of goosanders must be evaluated against the limited evidence for their actual impact on fishery economics.