Ducks are aquatic birds whose most fundamental welfare needs — swimming and water immersion — are routinely denied in commercial duck farming systems.
Ducks are wetland birds whose evolution has shaped every aspect of their anatomy for aquatic life. Denying water access does not merely remove a preference — it prevents normal preening, facial cleaning, and thermoregulation. Ducks without open water develop eye infections, dirty feathers unable to provide insulation, and chronic frustration. The welfare solution is straightforward and relatively low-cost: open water provision. The barrier is primarily industrial inertia and absence of legislative requirement.