Wading birds including curlews, lapwings and redshanks have suffered catastrophic population declines due to wetland drainage and agricultural intensification, reducing populations that once were abundant.
Wading bird population declines represent an ongoing welfare problem that operates at scale across millions of individual birds. The birds themselves face increased difficulty finding food as wet habitats are drained, reduced breeding success from lost nesting habitat, and increased predation pressure as cover diminishes. Each failed breeding attempt means eggs or chicks dying from predation or exposure — welfare harms at the individual level that multiply across declining populations. Habitat restoration through rewetting of farmland and peat bogs is the most impactful large-scale welfare intervention, complemented by predator management on critical breeding sites.