The diverse human/bird relationships in backyard bird keeping

Implications for health and welfare

Bibliographic Data

ID24228274
AuthorsN Mahon (0000-0002-6794-9582), Orla Shortall (0000-0003-4291-1200), Carol Kyle
Year2026
Volume43
Issue3
Publication date2026-09-03
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgriculture and Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0889-048X • E-ISSN: 1572-8366
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10460-026-10959-6
OpenAlexW7207856347
LanguageEN
References cited72

In 2024 registration of all captive bird flocks became mandatory in Great Britain to improve disease surveillance at a time of increasing avian influenza outbreaks. However, little is known about how health and welfare practices are shaped by the diversity of relationships that characterise UK backyard birdkeeping. We use this moment of change to (1) examine the relationships between backyard keepers, their birds, and the poultry industry, and, (2) explore how registration legislation is responded to by backyard keepers. We use a netnographic approach, investigating activity on four public Facebook pages, and draw on the ‘animal turn’ in geography to guide interpretation of the findings. Most keepers valued their birds as companions, and as embodying aesthetic qualities. A minority of keepers kept birds for food production. Keepers of companion birds were more concerned about registration and the potential for birds to be classified as farmed animals than those who valued birds for their (re)productive roles. Social media acted as a tool to build relationships with other keepers and share health and welfare advice. The lack of consensus around birds’ roles contributed to the diverse reactions to registration and distrust in public authorities was implicated in low uptake of flock registration. Our findings suggest that registration legislation does not fully consider the diversity of backyard keepers’ relationships with their birds, each other, and the poultry industry. We suggest that for registration to be widely accepted more needs to be done to acknowledge different ways of living with birds.

Animal health · animal turn · Animal welfare · avian influenza · companion animals · Facebook · Great Britain · human-animal relations · poultry industry · Social media · Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies · Animal Law and Welfare · Geographies of human-animal interactions

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Open DOIOpen Access