Wildlife

Wild Lapwing Welfare Progress

Lapwing conservation has shown localised successes from targeted agri-environment and reserve management, demonstrating what investment in farmland bird welfare can achieve.

Key Facts

UK lapwing populations have declined by 60% since 1970 but are stable or increasing in some managed areas
Agri-environment scheme uptake on targeted farms has tripled breeding pairs at some sites
RSPB reserve management including wet grassland creation supports dense breeding populations
Predator management combined with habitat improvement achieves the best breeding success rates
Lapwing recovery projects in Scotland have demonstrated that reversal is possible with commitment

Welfare Considerations

Lapwing welfare recovery is demonstrably achievable with targeted investment. The evidence base for effective interventions is strong, and scaling successful approaches offers genuine population-level welfare improvement.

What You Can Do

Support RSPB and Wildlife Trust lapwing recovery programmes
Advocate for mandatory participation in agri-environment schemes for farms with declining farmland birds
Record lapwing breeding success through BTO surveys to contribute to recovery monitoring