Different duck breeds used in commercial meat production carry distinct welfare risk profiles, and breed selection significantly affects the types and severity of welfare problems birds experience throughout production.
Duck breed selection for commercial production has created welfare problems analogous to those in broiler chickens: selection for extreme growth rate has resulted in birds whose physical capacity to express natural behaviors is compromised by their own body weight. The welfare reform pathway for ducks mirrors what is emerging in chicken welfare: transitioning to slower-growing breeds with more robust skeletal systems and requiring housing standards that allow behavioral expression. Breed-level welfare reform is more effective than attempting to optimize welfare within breed constraints that are fundamentally incompatible with good welfare outcomes.