African penguins are Critically Endangered with populations that have collapsed from millions to tens of thousands. Their welfare depends on food availability, protected nesting sites, and reduction of human threats.
African penguin welfare involves both the daily welfare of wild birds facing chronic food scarcity and the acute welfare of thousands of birds annually treated for oil contamination, starvation, and injury. Oil-covered penguins require intensive weeks-long rehabilitation including cleaning, refeeding, and waterproofing restoration before release — each represents significant individual suffering from the oil spill event. Food scarcity from fishing competition causes breeding failure, chick starvation, and adult malnutrition that is measurable in declining body condition scores. Establishing no-take fishing zones around major penguin colonies has been proposed as a management intervention to reduce foraging competition during breeding season.