Emus are farmed in Australia, North America and Europe for meat, oil and leather. As a semi-wild species with specific behavioural needs, their welfare in captive farming contexts deserves careful attention.
Emu farming welfare is an underregulated area where species-specific needs are not well integrated into production systems. Emus are not domesticated animals in the way chickens or cattle are — their responses to confinement, handling and high-density housing reflect their wild nature. Welfare standards that assume conventional poultry responses are inadequate. High welfare emu production requires large paddocks, appropriate social groupings, low-stress handling systems and stockpeople trained in emu-specific behaviour and health. Consumer awareness of emu welfare is low, and labelling rarely provides meaningful welfare information.