Ducks are semi-aquatic birds with strong drives to access water for bathing, feeding, and social behaviour; intensive farming systems that deny water access cause significant frustration and welfare impairment.
Denying ducks access to bathing water is a fundamental welfare failure because water access is so central to duck behaviour and health. Ducks deprived of water show increased frustration behaviours and suffer from eye and nasal discharge that appropriate water access would prevent. The welfare improvement from providing even simple water troughs is substantial and has been demonstrated in commercial settings. Some European retailers and producers have committed to water access requirements for ducks following sustained campaigning — demonstrating that welfare improvements are commercially viable when consumer and retailer pressure is applied.