Wildlife

Wild Wading Bird Welfare and Wetland Restoration

UK wading birds including lapwing, curlew, and redshank are declining due to habitat loss. Wetland and grassland restoration directly improves wading bird welfare.

Key Facts

UK curlew populations have declined by 50% since the 1990s, making it a conservation priority
Lapwing and snipe have declined by 70% on farmland since 1970
Wet grassland with shallow scrapes provides ideal wading bird breeding and feeding habitat
Agricultural drainage has removed most wet grassland from the UK lowland landscape
Restored wet grassland on floodplains provides habitat while reducing flood risk downstream

Welfare Considerations

Wading bird welfare is fundamentally a habitat welfare issue - these species require specific wetland and wet grassland conditions that have been dramatically reduced by agricultural improvement. Restoring these habitats provides welfare through appropriate breeding and foraging conditions for declining populations. The alignment of wading bird welfare with flood management and carbon storage creates multiple benefit cases for restoration investment.

What You Can Do

Support wetland restoration and agri-environment scheme funding that benefits wading birds
Donate to RSPB and WWT programs working on wading bird habitat restoration
Report wading bird sightings to monitoring schemes contributing to distribution data
Advocate for agri-environment scheme payments that incentivize wet grassland management