The endangered white-headed duck faces extinction through hybridisation with introduced North American ruddy ducks, requiring intensive management with welfare implications.
The ruddy duck eradication programme raised welfare questions about lethal management of invasive birds to protect a native species. Each ruddy duck killed experienced the welfare harm of death to prevent the welfare and conservation harm to the globally threatened white-headed duck. This welfare trade-off between individual invasive birds and the extinction risk to an entire species requires transparent ethical consideration. The white-headed duck's recovery success justifies the intervention but the welfare costs of eradication must be acknowledged and minimised through efficient methods.