Ducks are aquatic birds with a biological drive to use water for bathing, preening, and bill cleaning. Denying water access in intensive systems causes severe welfare compromise.
Water access for ducks is not a luxury but a fundamental biological requirement. The impulse to bathe and preen is highly motivated in ducks; frustration of this drive leads to distress, abnormal behaviours, and physical health problems including eye infections and poor plumage condition. Scientific consensus, including from the European Food Safety Authority, supports the provision of open water access for farmed ducks as a welfare necessity. Corporate pledges and welfare certification schemes in some markets are beginning to require open water provision, but global progress is slow. Consumer awareness that most farmed ducks worldwide have no access to water is low, creating an important opportunity for public education.