The Eurasian curlew is one of the UK's most at-risk breeding birds. Population collapse driven by habitat loss and predation creates both conservation and welfare emergencies requiring urgent intervention.
Curlews face welfare challenges both at the breeding grounds and wintering sites. Failed nesting attempts cause repeated stress and reproductive loss for adult birds, which are long-lived and form pair bonds. Chick starvation during cold, wet summers is a direct welfare harm. On estuaries, human disturbance causes repeated flushing of roosting and foraging birds, increasing energy expenditure at critical periods. Conservation interventions that reduce nest failure rates directly improve individual bird welfare alongside population outcomes.