White storks are migratory birds that undertake perilous journeys between European breeding grounds and African wintering sites, facing welfare threats from power line collisions, agricultural pesticide use, and wetland loss.
Stork welfare is shaped by challenges at both ends of their migration and along the route. Power line electrocution causes acute death or severe burns — storks with large wingspans are particularly vulnerable to touching two conductors simultaneously. Lead poisoning from ammunition residues in prey causes progressive neurological damage over weeks. Agricultural intensification has reduced the frog and large insect prey storks require — chicks in areas with depleted prey grow more slowly and are less likely to survive their first migration. Landfill-dependent stork populations that skip migration avoid route mortality but face nutritional risks from garbage-based diets and proximity to human settlements. The remarkably long migration itself exposes storks to collision, hunting, and fatigue-related mortality across more than a dozen countries with variable wildlife protections.