Penguins face welfare challenges from changing ocean temperatures that affect prey availability, fishing bycatch, and oil pollution. Several species face serious population decline alongside individual welfare pressures.
Penguin welfare is threatened at both population and individual levels. African penguins competing with commercial sardine and anchovy fisheries for food show weight loss, breeding failure, and increased chick mortality during periods of low prey availability. Individual oiled penguins experience severe hypothermia and feather damage that requires weeks of intensive rehabilitation. Climate-driven prey shifts force penguins to spend more energy foraging, reducing the energy available for reproduction and maintenance. Successful rehabilitation programs for oiled penguins have high release rates and good post-release survival. The welfare case for fishing exclusion zones around African penguin breeding colonies — establishing buffer zones where prey fish cannot be commercially taken — is supported by strong evidence.