Quail are farmed intensively for eggs and meat with welfare challenges that receive minimal public or regulatory attention.
Quail welfare suffers from double obscurity — as small birds in an industry dominated by chicken and pig welfare debates, and as a species whose welfare needs are genuinely understudied. The welfare problems are similar to those of caged laying hens: inability to express natural foraging and dust bathing behavior, chronic stress from confinement, and injury from feather pecking. The lack of welfare standards or public attention makes farmed quail one of the most welfare-neglected commercial species.