Ostriches farmed for leather, feathers, and meat face welfare challenges specific to their unusual biology.
Ostriches are undomesticated wild animals farmed in conditions that create significant welfare problems. Their fear responses are extreme — ostriches killed by stress-induced capture myopathy during handling are a known mortality cause. They need large territories, complex social groups, and environmental stimulation that intensive farming cannot provide. Slaughter of ostriches is particularly difficult from a welfare perspective given their size, strength, and stress sensitivity. The industry has developed some handling protocols to reduce stress, but the fundamental incompatibility between ostrich behavioral needs and intensive farming remains.