Red kites have been successfully reintroduced across England following centuries of persecution, though welfare threats from poisoning and lead persist.
Red kites that ingest lead shot from game carcasses experience progressive neurological damage and death from lead poisoning. Rodenticide secondary poisoning causes haemorrhagic disease. Both are preventable - non-lead ammunition and mechanical rodent control prevent these welfare costs. The remarkable recovery of red kites demonstrates what legal protection and persecution reduction can achieve for individual bird welfare and population recovery.