Geese are farmed for meat and foie gras production. Their welfare challenges include force-feeding for foie gras, inadequate water access, and seasonal management pressures during growth and slaughter.
Farmed goose welfare encompasses some of the most contentious practices in animal agriculture. Foie gras production through force-feeding causes acute distress during gavage, abnormal liver pathology, impaired mobility, and behavioral indicators of pain and fear. The overwhelming scientific and ethical consensus supports bans on this practice. Beyond foie gras, general goose welfare issues mirror those of farmed ducks: inadequate water access prevents normal bathing and hygiene, live plucking causes acute pain, and confined housing frustrates the strong locomotory and social drives of this naturally active species. Consumer awareness and certification programs that exclude force-feeding and live-plucking are the most effective market-based welfare levers currently available.