Kiwi are unique flightless birds facing population collapse from introduced predators, with intensive management programmes now essential to their survival on mainland New Zealand.
Kiwi face welfare threats from predation that are acutely painful and frightening — stoats kill adult kiwi through attacks to the head and neck, a violent death. The psychological dimension of living in an environment saturated with olfactory cues of predators imposes chronic stress on a species with no evolutionary preparation for this threat. Conservation interventions — egg removal, incubation, rearing in predator-free environments — involve handling and captive conditions that stress highly sensitive birds. The welfare cost of these interventions is accepted as necessary given extinction risk. Predator-free sanctuaries represent the most welfare-positive outcome: kiwi experiencing natural environments without predation pressure.