Advanced genetic analysis of UK barn owl populations reveals the conservation and welfare implications of founder effects, isolation, and inbreeding in a population recovering from near-extinction.
Genetically depauperate barn owl populations face welfare risks from inbreeding depression that reduces immune competence and reproductive success, compounding the welfare challenges from rodenticide poisoning and road mortality. Advanced genetic management of captive populations that maintain diversity for potential conservation releases provides a welfare and conservation insurance policy for populations at greatest risk.