Secondary poisoning from rodenticides is a major welfare threat to barn owls and other raptors. Evidence-based rodent control that protects predators is both achievable and desirable.
Barn owl poisoning from rodenticides represents an avoidable welfare tragedy. These birds suffer prolonged deaths from internal haemorrhage, often weakening over days before dying. The irony is that protecting barn owls would reduce the need for rodenticides, as healthy owl populations naturally suppress rodent numbers. A shift toward integrated pest management that supports rather than undermines natural predators would benefit both wildlife welfare and farm economics.