Farmland birds have declined dramatically since the 1970s due to agricultural intensification. Understanding these declines informs welfare-conscious farming and conservation policy.
Farmland bird declines represent a massive welfare impact at population scale. The loss of food, nesting sites and habitat creates conditions where individual birds experience chronic food stress, reduced breeding success and higher predation pressure. Reversing declines requires fundamental changes to farming practice supported by adequate agri-environment payments. Consumer support for British food produced under high environmental standards creates the market signal to drive uptake.