Barn owls are iconic predators whose populations are threatened by rodenticide poisoning as they bioaccumulate toxins from poisoned prey across agricultural landscapes.
Barn owl welfare is threatened by a slow-motion poisoning crisis driven by rodenticide use in agriculture and pest control. Owls that eat multiple poisoned rodents accumulate anticoagulant compounds that cause internal bleeding — a painful, prolonged process of deterioration. Animals showing rodenticide effects may survive for days or weeks in a compromised state before dying. The welfare irony is profound: barn owls are the most effective natural rodent control available to farmers, yet agricultural rodenticide use undermines the very predators that provide this service. Promoting barn owl nest boxes and reducing rodenticide use serves both welfare and ecological function.