Commercial duck production — for meat and foie gras — raises serious welfare concerns relating to the deprivation of water access, space restriction, and in force-feeding systems, the direct causing of painful physiological states.
The welfare landscape of commercial duck production ranges from poor to extremely poor depending on system and country. The fundamental welfare problem for ducks in intensive systems is the systematic denial of behaviours that are biologically central to the species — waterfowl deprived of bathing water spend more time in abnormal, repetitive behaviours and show elevated fear responses. Ocular pathology from inability to clean eyes is a concrete, measurable welfare outcome that affects large proportions of commercial flocks yet is rarely addressed by minimum standards. At the extreme end of the welfare spectrum, foie gras production causes well-documented pathological harm through the force-feeding process itself. Ducks undergoing gavage show avoidance of the feeding apparatus, elevated stress hormone responses, and pathological organ damage that most veterinary and scientific bodies regard as inherently compromising welfare beyond acceptable limits. Reform in commercial duck production requires both regulatory change and consumer awareness that current minimum standards fall well below what duck biology requires.