Creating new wet grassland habitats through scrape construction and water level management provides critical habitat for wading birds, wildfowl, and invertebrates with direct welfare benefits.
Creating new wet grassland habitat directly improves wildlife welfare by providing the food resources and nesting conditions that allow successful breeding for species that cannot complete their life cycles in degraded habitats. Wading bird chicks fed on abundant invertebrates in shallow scrapes have dramatically higher survival rates than those in drained grassland. Wildfowl using wet grasslands for moulting and winter feeding have better body condition and survival prospects. Each hectare of wet grassland created represents a sustained improvement in welfare conditions for multiple species across multiple generations.