Ostriches are farmed globally for meat, leather, and feathers. As the world's largest birds with distinctive social and physical needs, their welfare in commercial production raises important questions about appropriate management.
Ostrich welfare in commercial production is shaped by the profound mismatch between their natural ecology — wide-ranging, fast-moving, large-flock savanna birds — and the constraints of commercial farming. Farmed ostriches that cannot run, that are housed in small paddocks, or that face frequent human handling in fear-inducing contexts show stress responses including stereotypic pacing, aggression, and feather-pecking among conspecifics. The extreme fear response of ostriches — which can cause fatal cardiac events in severely stressed birds — means that handling, catching, and slaughter operations require specialised methods that reduce fear exposure as much as possible. Feather plucking, where performed, causes pain and should be conducted with minimum frequency and appropriate technique. The high value of individual ostriches creates economic incentive to maintain adequate health and housing standards, though this alignment does not fully protect all welfare dimensions. Slaughter welfare specifically requires facilities designed for the species' large size and extreme stress sensitivity.