Duck farming presents specific welfare challenges related to water access, space requirements, and slaughter practices.
Duck welfare in intensive farming is dominated by a single fundamental conflict: ducks are water birds whose most important behavioral needs require the resource that farmers are most motivated to withhold due to hygiene and infrastructure costs. Research consistently shows that ducks have high behavioral motivation for open water access — it is not a luxury but a welfare necessity. Welfare-conscious duck farming provides at minimum nipple drinkers with water deep enough for bill immersion, and ideally ponds or channels for bathing. Foie gras production represents one of the clearest cases of institutionalized animal cruelty in farming — force-feeding to induce pathological liver enlargement causes measurable suffering.