Stag beetles are Britain's largest beetle and one of its most threatened invertebrates. Their welfare and conservation needs are closely linked to deadwood habitat management.
Stag beetle welfare is primarily a larval welfare issue: larvae spend years developing in rotting wood, and destruction of deadwood habitat eliminates entire developing populations. The welfare of individual larvae that die when their log pile is removed or their rotting stump is cleared represents a small but real welfare harm at the level of the individual. At population level, the loss of deadwood in managed gardens and parks over decades has had significant cumulative effects. Creating log piles - stacking logs vertically in a sunny corner and allowing them to rot slowly - is an accessible garden action that benefits stag beetles and hundreds of other deadwood invertebrate species over many years.