Comparison of rehabilitation rates of birds of prey from a raptor rehabilitation centre ten years apart

Abstract

Enforcement and definitions of aspects of legislation for the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife has been rapidly changing in recent years. The Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs has become stricter on keeping wildlife in temporary captivity for long periods of time. This has lead to anecdotal reports of reduced numbers of birds being released successfully or kept captive, and more euthanized on welfare grounds. Here we aimed to elucidate whether there is a significant difference in the outcomes of raptors admitted in to the Raptor Foundation at Pidley, UK in 2007 and 2017. Our results showed higher numbers of birds being euthanized and fewer being released successfully in 2017 (39.4 and 30.3% respectively) compared with 2007 (59.8 and 9.8% respectively). Statistically significant differences were found in the number of birds being euthanized and released in the two years selected. More work needs to be done to prove the causal reasons for these results, as many variables are involved.