Atlantic puffins face growing welfare threats from climate change, which is shifting fish populations and reducing breeding success at key UK colonies. Understanding puffin welfare science informs conservation priorities.
Puffin welfare is most critically affected by food availability during the breeding season. Sand eels are the primary food for chicks, and as sea temperatures warm, sand eel distribution shifts away from traditional puffin colonies. Adults flying increasingly long distances to find food arrive at the burrow exhausted and less able to feed chicks adequately. Chick starvation and abandonment cause direct welfare harm. Predator removal from key nesting islands, while controversial, has demonstrated benefits for puffin breeding success at some Scottish island sites.