Corncrakes have been almost eliminated from most of the UK by modern silage cutting but survive in the Western Isles of Scotland and Ireland, with farming practice changes supporting welfare and recovery.
Individual corncrakes killed by farm machinery represent acute welfare harms. Those that survive to breed successfully in managed grassland experience the welfare of successful reproduction in a recovered population. Agri-environment schemes that pay farmers for late cutting and appropriate mowing patterns directly prevent individual birds being killed while supporting population recovery.