Wildlife

Wild Arctic Tern: Climate Change Welfare and Conservation

Arctic terns are extreme long-distance migrants whose welfare is threatened at both polar breeding and wintering grounds by climate change.

Key Facts

Arctic terns migrate up to 70,000 km annually between Arctic breeding and Antarctic wintering grounds
Breeding success on UK colonies is linked to sandeel availability driven by sea temperature
Colony abandonment from sand eel collapse causes mass breeding failure across multiple terns simultaneously
Climate projections suggest increasing frequency of breeding failure years for Arctic terns

Welfare Considerations

Tern chicks starving after colony abandonment due to sandeel collapse experience acute hunger before death. The welfare cost cascades from climate-driven prey collapse through parent inability to provision chicks. Systemic climate action is the ultimate welfare intervention for Arctic terns.

What You Can Do

Support RSPB tern colony monitoring and tern island management programmes
Advocate for bold climate action as the fundamental solution to tern prey collapse
Choose MSC-certified seafood to reduce commercial pressure on sandeel populations