The lapwing, once one of Britain's most familiar farmland birds, has declined by over 80% in lowland England since the 1960s - a dramatic collapse driven by agricultural intensification that represents both a conservation and welfare crisis.
Ground-nesting lapwings suffer direct mortality from agricultural machinery during nesting and chick-rearing seasons. Silage cutting before chicks have fledged is a major cause of chick mortality. Agricultural drainage eliminates the wet areas that lapwing chicks need to find invertebrate food, causing widespread starvation in areas that appear suitable for adults. Pesticide use reduces invertebrate abundance for chick food. The collapse of lapwing populations from abundance to rarity within a few decades represents a systemic welfare failure at landscape scale.