Geese are farmed worldwide for meat, down, and foie gras, but their welfare needs as highly social, intelligent waterfowl are rarely adequately addressed in farming standards.
Goose welfare is among the most poorly regulated areas of commercial poultry production. As waterfowl, their need for water access for bathing is not merely behavioral enrichment but a welfare necessity for maintaining feather condition and skin health. Denial of bathing opportunities causes feather damage and distress. Live plucking for down production is a painful procedure causing injury and fear, yet it remains legal and widespread. Foie gras production subjects geese to forced feeding that causes gross physiological damage for the explicit purpose of producing a luxury product. The intelligence and social complexity of geese means their suffering in poor conditions is likely qualitatively richer than that of less cognitively developed species.