Ducks are semi-aquatic birds with strong behavioral needs for water immersion. Standard intensive duck farming denies water access entirely, causing significant and preventable welfare suffering.
Farmed duck welfare represents one of the clearest cases where industry practice is deeply inconsistent with scientific knowledge of behavioral needs. Water is not a luxury for ducks — it is essential for the preening behavior that maintains feather waterproofing and insulation, for eye health through self-flushing, and for the social and foraging behaviors that define normal duck life. A duck that cannot immerse its head in water, cannot bathe, and cannot engage in the aquatic behaviors it evolved for is experiencing behavioral deprivation that causes chronic welfare compromise. The solution is known and technically straightforward: open water provision. The barrier is purely economic and reflects an industry that has not yet been required to meet its animals basic needs.