The great crested grebe recovered spectacularly from near-extinction in the UK in the 19th century and is now a familiar sight on lakes and reservoirs, but faces ongoing welfare challenges.
Great crested grebe welfare is threatened by water quality degradation, recreational disturbance, and accidental capture in fishing gear. The species' spectacular historical recovery demonstrates that effective protection can achieve rapid population-level welfare improvement. Current welfare concerns focus on individual birds: fishing line ingestion causes suffering and death, boat disturbance during nesting disrupts brooding, and pollution events can kill multiple birds simultaneously. Welfare protection for grebes requires both legal enforcement and public education.