South Africa is the world's leading ostrich producer for meat, leather, and feathers. Ostrich welfare involves unique challenges given their size, speed, and wild behavioural repertoire.
Ostrich farming welfare is complicated by the species' powerful stress responses and the genuine danger they pose to handlers during handling procedures. Low-stress handling requires specialist facilities and training. The commercial pressure to pluck feathers outside moult periods causes preventable suffering. As a species that in the wild ranges over large territories with complex social structures, ostriches in farming systems face fundamental welfare constraints. Welfare-conscious ostrich farming requires significant investment in appropriate facilities and trained personnel.