Red kites have made one of conservation's greatest comebacks following reintroduction, but illegal poisoning remains a persistent welfare threat. Individual birds targeted by poisoned bait suffer agonising deaths.
Red kites poisoned by illegal baited carcasses or secondary rodenticide exposure die slowly from internal haemorrhage or neurological failure. Each poisoning death represents both an individual welfare catastrophe and a setback to population recovery. Stronger prosecution and deterrence, combined with restrictions on second-generation rodenticide use, would significantly reduce this welfare suffering.