Seabird chick welfare is declining as climate-driven prey shifts reduce food availability during the critical chick-rearing period, causing mass starvation events at affected colonies.
Seabird chick starvation is one of the most visible welfare consequences of climate change - thousands of chicks in colonies die slowly from hunger when parents cannot find adequate prey. The suffering of individual starving chicks is real and prolonged - they become lethargic, lose weight rapidly, cease begging and die over several days. Unlike adult mortality from collision or drowning, chick starvation occurs in full view at colonies where dedicated observers document the decline. The welfare response to this problem requires climate action and fisheries management (protecting prey fish stocks and restricting sandeel industrial fishing near breeding colonies) rather than interventions at the colony itself.