Ostriches are farmed globally for leather, feathers and meat under conditions that often fail to meet the needs of these large, complex birds evolved for vast open plains and dynamic social lives.
Ostrich farming raises significant welfare concerns that receive little public attention compared to chicken or pig production. Confinement in small paddocks denies ostriches the ability to express their natural ranging behaviour — they are evolved for vast open landscapes. Boredom and frustration in confined spaces lead to stereotypic pacing and aggression between individuals. Feather plucking, still practised on some farms, causes acute pain — the feathers have nerve supply and blood vessels in their follicles, and plucking conscious birds is analogous to removing fingernails. Slaughter welfare is complex: the power of a panicked ostrich makes handling extremely dangerous, and attempts to rush or mishandle birds during stunning cause severe stress and injury. Transport to slaughter is a high-stress event during which ostrich mortality rates are significantly elevated. The high value of ostrich leather creates economic pressure to maintain production despite poor welfare conditions.