Brood management trials remove hen harrier chicks from grouse moors to reduce adult harrier numbers. The welfare implications of this controversial management intervention require assessment.
Brood management welfare assessment involves multiple parties: the chicks removed from natural rearing, the adult birds whose breeding attempts are disrupted, and the potential impact on wild population welfare through altered behaviour. Captive rearing of removed chicks involves welfare compromises during handling, housing, and release. Whether brood management achieves its stated conservation goal of reducing harrier predation sufficiently to prevent illegal persecution is contested. Welfare assessment must consider the full population-level welfare implications alongside individual chick welfare during captive rearing.