Ducks raised for meat face serious welfare challenges in intensive systems. Foie gras production involves force-feeding that causes severe suffering and is banned in many countries.
Foie gras production is among the most clearly harmful practices in animal agriculture — force-feeding causes acute pain, esophageal injuries, and progressive organ failure in birds that can no longer walk or breathe normally by the end of the fattening period. Even in countries where foie gras is banned, its import may still be legal. For standard duck production, the primary welfare concern is deprivation of water for swimming and bathing — a core behavioral need for waterfowl. Ducks kept without open water access show stress behaviors and poor feather condition. Higher welfare duck production systems provide shower-head drinkers or small water troughs that allow at least partial water engagement.