Red kites were successfully reintroduced to Scotland from 1989 onwards, but secondary poisoning from rodenticides and deliberate poisoning remain ongoing welfare threats to the recovering population.
Red kite welfare in Scotland is threatened by both secondary and deliberate poisoning. Anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning causes internal haemorrhage and progressive weakness over days — a prolonged welfare emergency for affected birds. Deliberate poisoning with banned substances like carbofuran causes rapid but acutely distressing death. Recovered poisoned kites can sometimes be treated and released, but many die before discovery. Landscape-scale transition to non-anticoagulant rodenticide alternatives and stronger wildlife crime enforcement are the systemic welfare interventions. Individual rehabilitation of poisoning casualties provides direct welfare benefit for recovered birds.