Goose farming ranges from conventional table bird production to the highly controversial foie gras industry involving force-feeding, with welfare standards varying enormously across production systems and jurisdictions.
Goose farming welfare spans an enormous range. At one extreme, extensive outdoor goose production on pasture with water access approaches natural conditions, supporting grazing, social interaction, and bathing that meet most behavioural needs. At the other extreme, foie gras production through force-feeding causes specific welfare harm through the gavage process — the insertion of a metal or plastic tube into the oesophagus and delivery of 300-600g of high-energy feed 2-3 times daily for weeks. This process causes oesophageal injury, metabolic disease through extreme hepatic lipidosis, and stress from repeated handling. The enlarged liver that is the product of this process — 6-10 times normal liver weight — represents deliberate pathological disease production. The growing legislative trend to ban foie gras production reflects a welfare judgment that this product cannot be produced humanely. Conventional goose production welfare depends primarily on outdoor access, water provision, and space allowances that allow species-appropriate behaviour.